Teana's Travels Book 12: Misfits Mobilized
by D.K.N
Summary: Gamma Team is directed to assist in investigating Project Freelancer, a pet project of Parangosky's that went rogue. On the way, they meet up with two ex-Freelancers and a group of eccentric yet surprisingly effective soldiers, and together they track down the rogue Director, fight pirates, and face the mysterious enemy. Rated M for violence and the Blood-Gulchers' usual language.
1. Introductions

Well, here's Book 12.

…I recently realized that when I typed up the last chapter of Book 11, with Kaede K.'s mother and stuff, _I forgot Nyū_. **_D'oh!-!_**

**I MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS, WHICH ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE MENTIONED OWNER-PEOPLE:**

_Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha _(Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs

_Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni _(Shion, the "Keiichi Crew") – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

_Shuffle! _(Kaede Fuyō, Rin, Asa & Ama, Sia & Nerine, Primula) – Navel and Asread

_Erika's New Perfume _(Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – Deviant-Art artist Lance the Young

_Mai-chan's Daily Life _(Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga

_Star Wars _(Ahsoka, Cody, Rex) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

_Halo _(Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie and 343 Industries

_StarCraft _(multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

_Naruto _(jutsu, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto

_Mahō Sensei Negima _(spells, abilities, characters) – Ken Akamatsu

_Kingdom Hearts _(Keyblades, the concept of Nobodies (Laicixa), Aqua) – Square-Enix

_Neon Genesis Evangelion_ (Mana Kirishima) – Studio Gainax

_Elfen Lied _(Kaede K., others)– Lynn Okamoto, Arms

_Red vs. Blue _– Rooster Teeth

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-****_BOOK 12 START_****-**

**Planet Dolus (UNSC Outer Colony)**

**August 15****th****, 2553**

The seven girls of Gamma Team made their way across the desert in a Transport Warthog and a basic Chaingun Warthog, heading for an excavation site already visible up ahead. Supposedly, it was in this area that the ex-Freelancer, former Agent Washington, was last seen heading; the tire tracks the group now followed were further potential evidence. Marie had been quiet this whole time, but Kaede and Teana could detect the concealed giddiness about all this; apparently, it was another facet of how the events in the UNSC's universe were a work of fiction on her Earth (though things had ended quite differently in the fictional timeline compared to this one that Teana participated in). Gamma Team was on alert; this out-of-the-way planet might have pirates or leftover Insurrectionists hiding on it, and there was always the slight risk of encountering Covenant Remnant forces. Mainly, though, a force of personnel from the late Admiral Parangosky's personal subdivision of ONI Section Zero, operating under a posthumous recorded message/order from Parangosky, had been ordered to kill anyone connected to Freelancer, as well as anyone – including civilians and UNSC personnel – who knew of said people.

When the two Warthogs drove up, they saw another Warthog parked near a pack of boulders. They piled out of their vehicles, ensuring that their armor – Mark-7 MJOLNIR for Teana, custom-built for Ahsoka, and customized ODST armor for the other five – was on and shields ready. As they moved through, they heard talking up ahead. They moved closer until it was discernible.

"Alright" a woman's voice was heard. "Pack it up, people. We're moving."

"Where to now?" a man's exasperated voice asked.

"There's an old ship that crashed at a Freelancer outpost a few years back."

"Outpost 17-B?" another man asked.

"You mean we're going back to Valhalla?" another man asked.

"Back to our own base?" a fourth, gruff voice asked.

"That's right, assholes" a fifth chimed in. "You're finally goin' home. And you're taking _us _with you."

"Those voices…" Marie murmured. "Could it be…?"

As the people on the other side of the boulder continued to talk, Teana snaked a fiber-optic cable around it, relaying the image it captured to everyone's HUDs. It showed seven people – a woman in cyan armor, a man in cobalt armor with yellow accents, a man in teal armor, another man in deep-blue armor, one in bright red armor, one in maroon armor, and one in orange armor. The man in red had a shotgun, the deep-blue one an assault rifle, and the rest had battle-rifles. The armor of the latter five looked like an imitation of MJOLNIR armor with elements of ODST and SPI to it, while the former two's armor looked slightly more advanced. Also, the small hologram of an A.I. wearing blue armor similar to the five stood atop the woman's shoulder, clutching a virtual sniper rifle.

"Oh my God, _it's really them_~!" Marie's voice started out high and continuously rose with each syllable, becoming a fangirlish squeal at the end.

Inside her helmet, Teana quirked an eyebrow at the sudden, never-before-seen reaction from her normally calm & snarky teammate at seeing these new people. "I don't think I've ever seen or heard you fangirling, Marie" she said.

"Omigosh-omigosh-_Omigooosh~_!" the girl was lightly bouncing in place and quietly squealing, acting like the stereotypical teen going crazy over the latest hot young celebrity. "It's the fucking Blood Gulch crew! This is so awesome~!"

Teana rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. She then noticed as the other group started moving around.

"Looks like they're getting ready to move out" she said. "If we're gonna catch 'em, now's the time."

"W-What?" Marie asked, surprised. "B-But I'm not ready yet! …H-How do I look? D-Do I need to polish my armor, do ya think? Oh man…"

"Just… let us do the talking, I guess" Shion said.

"Okay. Okay… Oh man, I'm so sorry, girls. I know this is the farthest thing from professional that you can imagine, how I'm acting right now. I just… c-can't help it. I'll try my damndest to keep it under control, keep myself quiet. And once I get used to them, I'll probably calm down after this initial freakout is done."

"I think it's kinda funny seeing you in Epic Fangirl Squee mode" Sarah said with a grin.

Teana walked out around the rock. "Hey~!" she called out, waving her arm high. "Yo! You guys!"

The 'Blood-Gulch' group turned and saw the red-armored figure walking across the sand towards them, six other armored people following her. They were on guard quickly, the cyan-armored woman pointing her rifle.

"Don't come any closer" the woman warned as Teana stopped about 10 feet from the group.

"Is any one of you ex-Agent Washington?" Teana asked.

The man in cobalt armor with yellow trim stepped forward. "I am" he said, taking position between Teana and the other group.

"My name is Second-Lieutenant Teana Uchiha-Lanstar, head of UNSC special-ops squad Gamma Team" she gestured to the six behind her. "We're here to help you track down the Director of Project Freelancer."

The other group looked surprised. "I thought the UNSC was after us" the orange-armored man said.

"Only a small part of it," Teana replied, "specifically, a subdivision of the Office of Naval Intelligence, Section 3, operating without the rest of the UNSC's knowledge… until recently. Project Freelancer was a pet project of ONI's previous head, Vice-Admiral Margaret Parangosky, who suffered a fatal stroke two months ago. But the project's Director went rogue. So Parangosky spent a lot of time and effort trying to 'clean up' the project and its remnants, if you catch my meaning. Now that she's dead, a cadre of personnel more loyal to her & her ideals than to the rest of the UNSC are following a posthumous command to kill anyone & everyone who is connected to Project Freelancer or who knows of said people, including civilians and UNSC personnel.

"UNSC HIGHCOM recently found out about all this. They sent us to help you guys track down and detain the Director, as well as execute a kill/capture order of Parangosky's minions. Also, we've received word there may be pirates hiding somewhere on this planet; we're to help you guys out if they show up."

"Well, this is quite the surprise" Washington said. "And I'm not entirely sure I can trust you just yet. But… for now, welcome aboard, and thanks for the help."

"Wash" the cyan-armored woman interjected. "Are we really gonna trust these people?"

"I don't think we have a choice in the matter, Carolina. We need all the help we can get."

"Ex-Agent Carolina?" Teana asked. "Our records showed you as deceased."

"I got thrown over a cliff" the woman replied. "Nobody saw me use my grappling-hook pistol to arrest my fall, and by the time I climbed back up the people who saw me thrown over were gone."

"Hm… Well, anyway, are all of you ex-Freelancers?"

"No, these guys are… allies of mine" Washington replied. "I'll give you the full story later. Now, why don't we swap names? If we're gonna be fighting together, it'd probably be a good idea not to rely on 'hey, you' when communicating in battle."

"Good idea" Teana said, and even with her helmet they could 'hear' the amused smile in her tone.

"As you know, I'm former Agent Washington, and this is former Agent Carolina."

"Call me Sarge" the man in the crimson armor said with a gruff but friendly tone.

"I'm Simmons" the maroon-armored man said.

"I'm Grif" the man in orange armor said.

"Name's Tucker" the man in teal armor said.

"And I am Caboose!" the dark-blue-armored man said cheerfully.

The small blue-armored hologram appeared over Carolina's shoulder. "Call me Church" he said.

"As I said, my name is Teana Uchiha-Lanstar". She then pointed to her squadmates as she introduced them. "This is Shion, Gamma-2. She has no surname; long story, family drama. This is Kaede Fuyō, Gamma-3; Mai Kitagawa, Gamma-5; Ahsoka Tano, Gamma-6; and Marie & Sarah Swanson, Gamma-4 and Gamma-7."

"What's up with her?" Grif gestured to Marie. "She looks kinda… stiff; nervous, maybe."

Teana sighed. "You'll probably not believe me, but… we're all from different realities – different universes." She then proceeded to point her hand at a nearby boulder and fire a burst of raw magic that blew a chunk out of it, deeply surprising Team Blood-Gulch. Ahsoka pulled free and activated her lightsabers (which they all recognized; _Star Wars _was still around, even in the mid-26th century), while Shion's Void Blade came forth.

"Holy shit…" Simmons murmured.

"Agreed" Sarge said.

"After all the crazy shit I've been through," Washington said, "this isn't _too _surprising. But… what does your extra-dimensional origin have to do with her nervousness?"

"Apparently," Kaede replied, "on Marie's Earth, you guys are the stars of a famous web series that she's a huge fan of. This is like meeting celebrities for her."

"_Red Versus Blue _is, like, my favorite show ever!" Marie finally spoke up.

"_Red Versus Blue_?" Sarge said. "Hm… I like it; the title mentions us first!"

"Wait…" Grif said. "You mean… we're famous?"

"In another reality" Simmons clarified. "In _this _reality, we're still nobodies."

"So?" Tucker said. "It still means that somewhere out in the multiverse, we're famous!"

"So…" Carolina said to Marie. "I don't suppose you could tell us what happens next?"

"Um… No, sorry. Seasons 1 through 5 were the time at Blood Gulch, Seasons 6 through 8 were Valhalla and the stuff involving Wash, the Meta, Epsilon, and stuff; and the most recent one for me, Season 9, was Church's time in the Memory Unit, interlaced with flashback footage of the days of the Freelancers. The last flashback sequence was the operation to retrieve the Sarcophagus and the battle on the highway, and then the Director asking you to 'do something' for him. And the last present-day scene was you emerging right after Church was freed from the memory unit, telling him you needed his help in killing the Director. The season ended there; I have no idea what you guys have been doing since then, or what flashback stuff takes place after that bit I mentioned."

"Dagnabbit, I hate cliffhangers" Sarge mumbled.

"Yeah, I didn't expect us to have that kind of luck" Simmons said. "Ah, well."

"We haven't really accomplished anything big since then" Tucker said.

"We're _trying _to hunt down any leads on the Director," Carolina said, "but so far we've had no luck. However, there's an old Freelancer ship crashed at 'Valhalla'. We're heading there next to see if we can find anything out."

"We'll accompany you" Teana said.

Marie opened a private comm. channel with the other six Gamma girls. "I'll explain what I can about characters and events to you girls on the way" she said.

"You seem pretty calm for someone who's meeting 'celebrities'" Wash said to Marie.

"We saw you guys before you saw us" Sarah replied. "So she had a chance to get most of the fangirl squeeing out of her system already."

"And believe me, I am _not _calm" Marie said, her voice bearing a slight tremor. "It's taking a fair bit of my self-control to _appear _calm right now, actually. Inside I'm still in full-out 'Holy crap I'm talking to the Blood-Gulch crew' freak-out mode. I-I'll be fine, though. I can be professional if need be."

"We should get moving" Teana said. "There may be hostiles between here and our destination, so when we move, stick close and stay nice & tight."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow" Tucker and Marie said simultaneously. Tucker looked at the girl with mild surprise, and she nervously rubbed the back of her (still helmeted) head.

"Not the first time she's used that" Shion remarked. "…Though the second time was _really _asking for it."

"Oh?" Tucker enquired as Sarah looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Shion replied, "we'd just found a girl who had some serious issues with letting people close to her. Sarah here said about trying to get her to open up that, and I quote, if we 'went at it too hard or too fast', the girl would 'clam up and refuse to open up', and that we 'had to go nice and slow and easy so she'd be comfortable'."

"Wow" Grif deadpanned. "That's, like, too easy."

"And the best thing was Sarah, at the time, honestly didn't know how what she was saying could be misconstrued. Marie's ensuing 'bow-chicka-bow-wow' caught her by surprise; it took her a bit to figure out what the things she'd said sounded like."

The tall blonde in question was glad her helmet's visor was polarized to hide her face.

"Why did you go out of your way to remember that?" Sarah mumbled, embarrassed.

"'Cause it was funny."

Teana smirked, then turned to the group and spoke in her 'soldier' tone.

"Alright, let's saddle up! Time to roll!"

"Shotgun!" Marie called quickly.

"Shotg… Crap" Ahsoka was disappointed at not calling it fast enough.

"Shotgun's lap!" Kaede called out.

"Yay!" Marie said.

"…Yay?" Simmons asked. "I was expecting a repeat of me, Grif, and Donut."

"Marie and Kaede are together" Sarah nonchalantly explained.

"Oh. Cool. Well, let's get going. I'll drive, Tucker."

"Oh, no way, dude. You drive like a pansy. _I'll _drive. You take the gun. Caboose, you're riding shotgun."

"Okay."

"Hey, Wash, can I have the gun for our 'Hog?" Grif asked.

"What? No, you had it last time. You drive. Sarge gets the gun."

"But we didn't run into anything I could use it on last time."

"That's beca-"

"Can we get the fucking show on the road already?-!" Church interrupted.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**En Route to Valhalla Base**

**30 Minutes Later**

The four Warthogs and one Mongoose rolled across the rocky plains. The mountains that Valhalla Outpost was nestled within were visible up ahead. Marie had spent the past 40 minutes telling the rest of Gamma, via a private TEAMCOM, all she could about the group they now found themselves in the company of, and about some of their adventures and incidents. No sooner had she finished when Cross Mirage reported over group-wide comm.

"Warning" the AI reported. "Energy signatures detected on the perimeter of my sensors, approaching rapidly. Readings suggest multiple vehicles. IFF tags do not fit any known coalition signature."

"Heads up, people" Carolina said. "Looks like we're gonna have company."

Teana conjured an Area Search spell-sphere, the orange ball of magic flying up high and zooming toward the closest signature. It returned to her an image, projected on her HUD, of an old Warthog and a handful of Mongooses painted very non-regulation colors, manned by people in varying types of armor, all looking worn & torn and painted with colors similar to the vehicles. Teana recognized a symbol on the Warthog's hood, and glared inside her helmet.

"Ready up, people" she said. "We've got pirates – the Black Suns."

"Ooh!" Caboose chimed in. "Do they have a pirate ship? Can we ride in it?"

"Caboose, the Black Suns aren't _that _type of pirate" Church replied. "They're the 'pillage, murder, rape, steal everything not nailed down and burn everything that is' type. They're most likely gonna try to kill us. …And no, they won't be saying 'Arrr'."

"Aw, shit" Grif muttered. "I've heard of these guys."

"I've _fought _these guys" Wash said. "They're one of the more dangerous syndicates – lots of gear, lots of members, and they almost never take prisoners… and the ones they _do _take often wish they'd been killed instead."

"They don't know who they're messin' with" Marie chimed in as she climbed out from under Kaede (who'd been sitting comfortably in her lap the whole ride and now readied her DMR), moved back, and manned the chaingun of the Warthog as Teana focused on driving. Nearby, aboard the Transport Hog driven by Sarah, Ahsoka, Mai, and Shion readied weapons. As the enemy vehicles became visible up ahead and to the side, driving parallel to the heroes' convoy, Sarge and Simmons spun up their Warthogs' chainguns, waiting for the pirates to make the first move.

The man riding shotgun in the Pirate Warthog pulled out an old M19 rocket launcher, and fired at Grif's Warthog. Simmons fired the chaingun of his vehicle at the rocket, hitting it mid-transit and detonating it harmlessly away from its target. One of the Pirate Mongooses rushed in amongst the convoy, the passenger firing an M7 SMG at the Transport Hog; Marie unloaded her chaingun on them, ripping both pirates to shreds and destroying their vehicle. One Mongoose tried to box Grif's Warthog in, driving in front of it; Grif responded by flooring the accelerator, running the smaller vehicle down. The driver was thrown off, but the passenger grabbed hold of the Warthog and drew his pistol, ready to kill Grif… who turned out to be a quicker draw, as his own pistol put a round between the pirate's eyes. Grif put his hand back on the steering wheel as the pirate's body fell off the Warthog and tumbled to a stop in their wake.

The Pirate Warthog's chaingun opened fire, rounds narrowly missing Carolina's Mongoose. In response, Kaede took careful aim with her DMR. Two pulls of the trigger, and the pirate gunner slumped over, dead. Then, the three Warthogs focused fire on the Pirate Hog, .50-caliber AA rounds punching into its armor; it wasn't long before the vehicle was trailing smoke. After several seconds of sustained fire, despite the pirate driver's best efforts to avoid it, the Warthog exploded, killing the driver, and tumbled end over end, the launcher-wielder being thrown clear, breaking his leg and his launcher on landing.

'Who's bright idea was it to attack an armed UNSC convoy?' he thought to himself as he lay there, looking up at the sky.

Three Pirate Mongooses remained. With one hand, Carolina pulled free her battle rifle. Church interfaced with her armor and helped steady her arm, and she fired a three-round burst that killed the driver of one of the Mongooses; the passenger threw his partner's body aside and took the controls. Another of the Mongooses drove alongside the Transport Hog, its passenger firing an MA5B assault rifle that the passengers' shields protected them from. Sarah jerked the wheel left, sideswiping the little Mongoose with the much larger Warthog, sending it rolling wildly through the dirt, forcefully ejecting the two pirates.

"Hey, heads up, guys!" Church reported. "Scanners are picking up an aircraft closing in behind us; IFF tag shows it's Black Sun!"

Teana turned around long enough to catch sight of the aircraft approaching from behind with her visor's 5x zoom.

"Aw crap, they've got a Falcon" she reported.

"Could be worse" Wash replied. "Could've been a Hornet; those have heat-seeking rockets."

The Falcon was soon upon them, firing its chin-gun at them as two pirates manned the side-mounted machinegun turrets, opening up. The heroes' convoy snaked around, narrowly dodging the rounds sent down at them while returning fire, none of them managing to do nearly enough damage to bring the Pirate Falcon down. As a round narrowly missed her head, Marie got fed up with it. In a flash of purple light, she brought Charon into its active form over her right arm. Holding onto the chaingun with her left hand, she turned and pointed her Device up at the Falcon. A violet sphere of charging magic formed at its tip. A magic cartridge was expended & ejected, and a 'Super Missile' shot went out, homing in on the Falcon. It was a direct hit just behind & beneath the cockpit. The Falcon rapidly lost speed and altitude, flames trailing from its underside. It hit the ground, leaving a trail of smoke and debris as it slid to a stop.

The few remaining Pirate Mongooses broke off their pursuit, falling back. The heroes' convoy was home free.

"That's right, bitches!" Tucker shouted. "Run!"

"Yeah, you won't be shivering our timbers today!" Caboose added.

"You boys messed with the wrong buncha misfits!" Sarge taunted.

"Valhalla Outpost in sight" Teana said. "We made it, ladies & gents."

"Alright!" Grif said. "We're home!"

**-****_CHAPTER END_****-**

And so begins Book 12. Also, I plan on starting the uploading of the series to Deviant-Art very soon. The uploaded-to-DA versions will have grammar & punctuation fixes, and a few altered or even added scenes. As a consequence, this Book's updates may take slightly longer.


	2. Freelancer

**_BAD NEWS: _**I am literally completely unable to upload _Teana's Travels _to Deviant-Art, because Deviant-Art refuses to allow me and my Internet Explorer 7 browser to do anything on it other than look at pictures (with a big fat yellow "**PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BROWSER**" at the top of the screen) and make comments. And it will likely be **_months_** before I can upgrade/update/replace my browser. So, for the foreseeable future (like, late 2013 or so), _Teana's Travels_ will still be **_ONLY_** on Fanfiction-dot-net.

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-****_CHAPTER START_****-**

**Planet Dolus**

**Valhalla Outpost**

**August 15****th****, 2553**

Five UNSC vehicles – three Chaingun Warthogs, a Transport Warthog, and a Mongoose – drove into the grassy canyon, where two high-tech structures stood on opposite ends. A crashed Pelican, heavily modified by the looks of it, was visible against a cliff wall. Everyone parked their vehicles and piled out.

"The Pelican's over there" Washington said to Carolina. "That's where Tex ended up."

"You mean where her body ended up" Carolina replied.

"Yeah…"

"Show me."

"So what's our next move?" Teana asked as she walked up, Mai and the Reds following her.

"Well," Wash replied, "first we've gotta…"

As a conversation broke out, Church responded to a summons from Tucker and Caboose, shifting over to them. Marie stood nearby, listening in.

"Can't talk too long" Church said. "My connection with Carolina's memory unit's not so good. What's up?"

"Ah, not much" Tucker replied. "My first time here, so I'm just taking it all in. Really enjoying the scenery; how 'bout you?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, you know, now that you mention it the trees are kinda nice. Especially in comparison with the desolate environment of the sand and the- wait, wait, wait, wait, is that it?-!"

"No, that's not it!" Tucker snapped. "What the fuck are you doing with Carolina?-!"

"Hey, calm down!" Church replied defensively. "Turns out she's more complicated than we thought."

"Like Monopoly!" Caboose suggested. "Or like the board game."

"Church," Tucker said, "just because you wanna get close to someone, doesn't mean that you have to end up inside them!"

Church and Marie stared at Tucker for a few seconds, waiting.

"…Oh, c'mon, aren't you gonna say it?" Church asked.

"No, because I'm pissed off!"

"Alright, alright, look guys. I'm still on your side, okay? But if Carolina is hiding something, I'm going to have to stay close to her in order to find it. See? Proximity is the key."

"I thought memory was the key?" Tucker said sarcastically.

"Yeah, and the sword" Caboose added. "The sword's a key, too!"

"Caboose, shut up!" Tucker snapped.

"Hey, I gotta go" Church said. "Talk to ya later."

He vanished, returning to Carolina.

'Well, this might not be good' Marie thought.

"We should get a key ring" Caboose said.

As the Reds got into a talk about 'responsibilities' and overtime pay, Teana and Mai followed the two ex-Agents over to the crashed Pelican.

"Looks like it was taken down by an internal explosion" Teana remarked. "No exterior damage other than from the crash. Did a bomb go off inside this thing or something?"

"Actually, yes, according to Epsilon" Washington replied. "Supposedly, the bomb had an AI. His name was Andy."

"…Oookaaaay…" Teana spoke slowly.

"Alright," Carolina said, "let's get lookin'."

The group got to it, Church interfacing with the dropship's computer systems. After several minutes, they reported in.

"I got nothing" Mai said.

"Wash and I found some shell casings and a dog-tag" Teana reported.

"Church?" Carolina looked to the cockpit.

"Haven't found anything yet," the AI replied, "but the onboard AI is an old friend of mine. She's doing her best to help me out."

"Wait, there's an AI in there?" Teana asked.

"Yeah, her name's Sheila."

"Sheila…" Teana remembered from Marie's explanation. "The one who used to inhabit a Scorpion?"

"Yep, that's her. We're gonna get back to it."

As he vanished, Carolina stared into the distance. "You can't keep your secrets forever, Texas" she muttered. "Not from me… _Never _from me…"

Sitting atop a boulder halfway between the Red and Blue bases, Ahsoka and Sarah looked out at everyone moving about.

"From what Carolina said," Ahsoka spoke, "it sounds like they've been hitting one dead-end after another. Think we'll have better luck this time?"

"Let's hope so" Sarah replied. "From what Simmons told me, Carolina's temper's getting worse with each lost lead, and from what I can tell the Blood-Gulchers are getting sick & tired of being dragged around everywhere; tension's rising and they're getting a tad resentful."

"Carolina may be a good soldier," Ahsoka said, "but she doesn't seem to be that good of a leader. Sure, she's good with tactics, but that's no good if you don't have the respect of your subordinates. And considering she seems to view them as expendable annoyances…"

"Yeah, it's a disaster waiting to happen" Sarah finished. "Let's just hope we're there to mitigate it if – or when – it happens."

"Yeah…" Ahsoka trailed off. "So… How're things going with Ginga and Vice?"

Sarah blushed lightly in response. "T-They're going good" she replied. "We… have fun…"

"…Fun?" Ahsoka smirked.

Sarah averted her gaze, her face going red. "…Fun…"

Meanwhile, back at the Pelican, the mood was considerably worse.

"Nothing…" Carolina was seething. "_Nothing_! A dead end! Damnit, not _again_!"

She slammed her fist on the side of the Pelican's cockpit, and Church popped up.

"Hey, watch it!" he said indignantly. "I'm still in here!"

"Response teams beat us to the wreck" Washington said. "Plain and simple. We knew the chances of finding something here were slim."

"Okay, well," Church said, "what about the bases."

"Blue base was swept clean" Wash replied. "As for Red base, any evidence that might have been there was completely destroyed during the construction of some kind of giant, holographic projection room."

"Man… Those guys are really starting to find creative ways to ruin my life… Motherfuckers…"

"This is our _third _wild goose chase, David!" Carolina snapped. "Even after she's gone, Texas is still finding ways to screw me over!"

"You can't blame Allison for this! Time isn't on our side, Mick. Any trails she left behind likely went cold years ago."

"Are you suggesting we give up?"

"Of course not" Wash put his hands up defensively. "I was just-"

"Good" she interrupted. "Then go spread the word; we're leaving."

"But… We just got here."

"What's your point?"

"Well, don't you think we're pushing these guys a little too hard? This place is pretty much home to them. They may not be ready to leave it so soon."

Carolina responded by walking up to Wash, staring him visor-to-visor. "Despite what those _idiots _might think," she said, "this is _not _a road trip. This is a mission. And I _will _see it completed. Is that understood, Agent Washington?"

The two glared at each other for a brief moment.

"…Yes, boss" He turned and walked away.

As Carolina yanked Church out of the system, Teana came out of the Pelican's back hatch.

"Don't you worry, Sheila" she said to the AI chip now held in her hand. "We'll get you fixed up."

"Thank-ank-ank y-y-you" the damaged construct replied.

Teana walked toward the center of the canyon, where the rest of Gamma had congregated. As she approached them, she received a comm. call.

"Hello?" she answered it. "Colonel, sir? …Really? Now? …Well…"

A few minutes later, the Reds, Wash, Tucker, & Caboose all came up… bringing with them two new figures: one in pink armor and one in purple.

"Hey, there!" the man in pink said cheerfully. "Wow, I guess Simmons wasn't joking; inter-dimensional soldiers, one of them from a universe where our adventures are a popular show! Hey, my name's Donut!"

"I'm Medical Officer DuFresne" the man in purple said. "Everyone calls me Doc."

"Holy crap, Doc's alive?" Marie said. "I thought you were dead!"

"I almost was! That jerk Washington shot me in the stomach, but then my armor locked up on me; kept me alive for a while until it unlocked again for some reason. It was horrible! Do you know what removes bloodstains from this armor? Not a lot, I tell you. I laid there forever wondering how I was going to get all that dark red outta this light red. You know?"

"Luckily, I found him in time" Doc said. "It was touch-and-go for a bit but I managed to stabilize him and get him back up on his feet. Then we set up a vegetable garden!"

"They used Lopez as a scarecrow" Simmons added.

"Man, how come people keep turning out to be not dead recently?" Grif remarked.

"Hey, you look familiar" Donut said to Washington, who looked a tad uncomfortable. Then Donut's eyes widened behind his visor. "U-Uh…" he said fearfully.

"Long story short," Washington said, "I switched sides. It's complicated. Um… Sorry about the whole… y'know… shooting-you thing. I'd been under a lot of stress so my temper was worse than usual."

"…I can understand that, I guess."

"So what now?" Wash said to the group.

"We just got a call from Colonel Holland" Teana said. "We – that is, Gamma Team – have to head back to the _Starshot _for about an hour or an hour-and-a-half. We'll be back, though; I promise. Don't do anything too crazy without us, okay?"

"You're asking the impossible" Grif deadpanned. "We don't find the crazy shit; the crazy shit finds _us_."

"Right, well…"

Pelican Echo-419 flew into the valley, setting down.

"I promise we'll be back soon!" Teana shouted as she and her team piled aboard. Soon, the dropship lifted off and zoomed away.

"…Now what?" Grif asked.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Aboard the ****_Starshot_**

**75 Minutes Later**

Teana palmed her face as she sat at the comm. console. Sheila was presently in the specialists' hands undergoing repairs. She and her team had come by to help solve an issue, welcoming a new Pelican pilot in the process, and now they were getting ready to leave and head back to Valhalla. Now, however, she found herself speaking to a comm. hologram of Church, who was now white instead of blue. The rest of Gamma stood behind her as she stared the AI down.

"So let me get this straight" she said. "In the hour we've been gone, you and Carolina managed to completely alienate the _entire team_?"

"_Look, I get it already!_" Church replied over the comm. "_I'm an asshole and I blew up on them! I fucked up! I get it!_"

"It's not just you. Carolina not only planned to _throw their lives away _for her vendetta, she actually _told _them that's what she was gonna do? _And _she took you and left without waiting for us to get back?"

"_Uh… Yeah, that's about right._"

Teana let out a weary sigh. "Alright. …We'll see what we can do for damage control. But I think you two are on your own for the foreseeable future."

"_Yeah… I understand that, too._"

The comm. cut out, and Teana turned to her team.

"I can't believe this…" Marie muttered. "The fellowship broken up…"

"Let's get moving" Teana said.

The door nearby suddenly opened. "Mind if we come along?" another voice made herself known.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Valhalla – Red Base**

**20 Minutes Later**

"I mean, come on" Doc was saying to the gathered Reds & Blues. "You guys have been through a lot together. Don't you want something to remember the good times?"

"The _good _times?" Tucker replied. "I was stranded in the desert!"

"We were almost killed!" Simmons added.

"I learned nearly my entire military career was a lie!" Sarge said.

"And I got shot!" Donut said.

"Ok yeah, it wasn't perfect," Doc replied, "but look at what you all got out of it. Sarge, you got to lead an actual military operation. And Tucker, you learned how to use your sword like a pro!"

"…Bow-chicka-bow-wow?"

"Wash found a new team, Simmons got back his old team, I finally got to save a patient from dying…

"And in return, I didn't die!" Donut called out.

"You see? In the end, we all worked together and everyone got something they wanted.

"Not everyone…" Caboose said sadly.

The Reds and Blues looked to each other in shame. After several seconds, Tucker made up his mind, drawing his plasma sword and starting to walk down the beach.

"You realize that if you go after them," Wash said, "there's no guarantee you'll come back. This isn't a game. The Director plays for keeps."

"Ah, well," Sarge said, "this place was gettin' kinda stale anyway."

"After everything Church and Carolina said to you guys? The way they treated you?"

"Hey, we gave _you _a second chance" Simmons replied.

"And besides," Grif said, hefting his Brute Shot, "if we quit every time Church started bitching, this shit would've been over a long time ago."

"Well be outgunned, we'll be out… everything!" Wash addressed the group. "This is stupid. Just think for a minute before you do anything reckless."

"Son," Sarge replied, "stupid and reckless is how we _always _get things done! …Y'know, there's one thing you Freelancers always seem to forget. And that's the fact that we've managed to kick your ass time and time again. Oh sure, you've got all your smart plans, and your fancy technology, and your advanced training, but, in the end, what has that gotcha? Without a team you can count on and your fellow soldier by your side, all that doesn't really amount to squat, now does it? So instead of standing there bellyaching all day, just tell us, are you gonna just sit on your hands, lettin' the world pass you by, and keep playin' it safe?" He cocked his shotgun. "Or do you wanna get a little reckless?"

"…This has to be the worst idea… ever… but… you can count me in."

"Me, too!" Donut said.

"Yes, and me!" Caboose shouted. "Oh, Church is gonna be thrilled!"

"I'm in, too!" Doc added.

"Um, guys?" Simmons asked. "They have a huge head start. How are we supposed to reach them in time?"

"Leave that to us!"

Two Pelicans flew in, hovering low over the ground. The nearest one swung around, the rear hatch opening to reveal Teana in full armor.

"Hey, boys!" she shouted. "Looks like you're getting set to do some asskicking! Want a lift?"

"_Hey, Wash!_" the Pelican's pilot said over the comm. "_Long time no see!_"

"Four-Seven-Niner?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"_The brass gave me a pardon, assigned me to the _Starshot" the woman replied. "_Hop in and let's go pull Carolina's ass out of the fire again!_"

"All right!" Tucker shouted. "Now we're talking!"

Soon, the Reds were aboard Echo-419, while the Blues and Doc were on Echo-479 along with another coalition team that they hadn't met yet. The two Pelicans took off, leaving Valhalla Outpost behind.

"Grif… Is that the Meta's Brute Shot?" Marie asked with astonishment.

"Brute Shot? So _that's_ its official name?"

"Well, its official name is the Jiralhanae Type-25 Grenade Launcher. It's an invention of the Brutes – y'know, those huge, angry, gorilla-bear aliens in the Covenant. They put big-ass blades on _everything_."

"I always thought all Covvie weapons were shiny and sleek" Sarge said.

"That's tech designed by the Sangheili" Shion replied. "The Brutes' gear is more… well, brutish. …You got ammo for that thing, right?"

"About 18 shots and a full load of battle-rifle ammo. Why?"

"Just making sure."

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility**

"You have no idea what kind of trouble you are in" the lead Tex-Drone said in a deep, masculine voice, staring down Carolina, who raised her Sangheili Type-25 Plasma Rifles.

"All right" she said, staring down the army of copies of her rival. "Me first"

The horde of Tex-bots charged, and Carolina opened fire, bluish-white bolts of superheated plasma shooting out, gunning down several. As the weapons overheated, she dropped them in time to dodge an attack from her left, pulling out her M90 shotgun and blasting the offending drone. She leapt into the middle of the fray, blasting any drone she got in her sights. Eventually, a Tex-bot managed to knock the gun out of her hands, and she switched to melee combat, dealing crushing blows to several more drones, ending with a kick that knocked one into a crate. The crate atop the stack fell over, spilling its cargo of M9 frag grenades.

Carolina kicked a grenade up and then kicked it into an approaching drone. Before it could hit the ground she drew her grappling-hook pistol and grabbed hold of the now-armed grenade. She swung it around like a flail, eventually smashing it into a pile of loose grenades; the resulting explosion blew apart four more Tex-bots.

"Watch out!"

Carolina couldn't react to Church's warning in time, being tackled and knocking her grappling gun away.

"Could you be a little more specific?" she snapped at Church.

"Yeah, uh, sorry, Carolina, but, seeing this many ex-girlfriends in one room kinda has me terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."

"Well, snap out of it! I need you!"

"Need me for- WOAH!-!"

Carolina activated her armor's Super-Speed enhancement (Teana suspected it and other Freelancer Armor Abilities were the result of reverse-engineered Forerunner tech that the Director had discovered at some point), and charged into the drones.

"Carolina, I don't think I can do this much longer!"

"Just hold on!" she said as she took three more down.

"Seriously! You need to slow down!"

"No!" she rushed in and engaged more drones. "I can do this! I can beat her!"

"Carolina!"

'_She really wants to win._'

"Carolina! Stop!"

'_Doesn't know how to stop…_'

"Mick, calm down!"

'_You're a real hero, Carolina._'

"Damn it, Michelle! Get a fucking hold of yourself!-!"

In the midst of a charge, Carolina ran right into a clothesline strike by one of the Tex-bots, sending her hurtling heels-over-head into a crate. She landed, her helmet falling off.

'_You can't beat me, Carolina._'

"Come on, get up!"

"She was right…" Carolina said, red hair hanging loose, her green eyes squinted shut. "I can't do this. I can't… beat her! I could _never _beat her!"

The drones began to advance on Carolina as she re-donned her helmet… and three plasma grenades came in from the left, adhering to the Tex-bots.

"Nine points, ya dirty whores!" Donut shouted.

Carolina ran and rolled away just in time for the triple-blast to tear apart five Tex-drones. She skidded to a stop at a pair of armored feet.

"Get up" Washington said, offering her hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she noticed the Blood-Gulch crew.

"I told you they're not so bad once you get to know them" he replied as he handed her an M6D pistol.

She looked around. Besides the Gulch Crew (including Doc, dual-wielding Plasma Pistols), there were 13 other people, all females in full armor – the seven girls of Gamma Team, and six whose armor all bore the Greek letter Sigma. Church appeared beside Tucker.

"I thought this 'wasn't your fight'" he said.

"Come on," Sarge replied, "overwhelming odds with little to no chance of success? How could we resist?"

"You got a problem with that, Church?" Tucker asked.

"…Guys, I am an asshole. I admit it, and I will gladly accept any and all smart-ass remarks after this is over. But I'd like to point out the fact that we're standing in a room full of crazy Freelancer robots that are ready to completely and utterly fuck our shit up."

"So… cheesy forgiveness speech later?" Tucker concluded

"Yeah, that sounds good" Sarge said.

"Lock and load, people!"

Wash and Donut shouldered their battle rifles, Simmons hefted an M19 launcher, Caboose readied his MA5B assault rifle, Grif gripped his Brute Shot, Sarge brought his shotgun to bear, Doc readied his plasma pistols, and Tucker activated his plasma sword. Teana readied Cross Mirage in Shotgun Mode, Shion had her arm-device in plasma repeater mode, Kaede F. shouldered her DMR, Marie readied Charon in plasma-beam mode, Mai & Sarah readied MA5C assault rifles, and Ahsoka activated her lightsabers. Aqua summoned the Master Keeper, Subaru readied a Sangheili Type-33 Fuel Rod Cannon, Ginga loaded a Sangheili Type-50 Concussion Rifle, Mana locked & loaded an MA5C, Asa readied a Lancer assault rifle, and Kaede K. shouldered her Sangheili Type-51 Carbine while ensuring her shotgun slung across her back was fully loaded. Church appeared next to Caboose.

"Caboose? I need you to get a little angry. Okay, buddy?"

"Okay" the simple man replied. "…Yeah, I don't remember how to do that."

"…I do."

Church then shifted into Caboose's armor. Within seconds, Caboose then charged like a freight train through the Tex-bot horde, sending them flying.

"MY NAME IS MICHAEL J. CABOOSE," he said in a deep, 'angry' voice, "AND I…"

He sent one flying with an uppercut.

"…HATE…"

He double-kicked one hard enough to knock several more down in a domino effect, and then grabbed hold of another and used it as a 'living' flail before throwing it into a pack of them.

"…TAXES!"

"It's Texas, you idiot!" Grif shouted.

"THAT, TOO!"

"Come on!" Wash shouted. "Now's our chance!"

"Sigma Team, cut them down!"

"Gamma Team, wipe them out!"

"Team Blood-Gulch! For our ancestors' ancestors! ATTAAAAACK!-!-!"

Grif, Simmons, Subaru, and Ginga made the first shots, their heavy weapons blowing apart a dozen of the Tex-form drones. Everyone else opened fire shortly after, Ahsoka and Tucker charging in and using their energy blades to hack Tex-bots apart. Sarge and Teana fired shotgun blasts that tore several drones apart, Kaede F., Wash, Kaede K., and Carolina started scoring headshots, and all the while Caboose continued bull-rushing through drones in the background.

Kaede K. switched to her shotgun, the Diclonius blasting Tex-bots left and right. She leapt high, landing amongst six drones, two of which leapt at her from the sides. In a flash of movement, she slashed out with two of her vectors in a wide arc around herself, bisecting the four ground-bound drones, while with the other two psi-arms she braced her actual arms and fired her shotgun and carbine – pointed out in opposite directions, at the two incoming drones –, destroying those two drones simultaneous with the other four.

Kaede F. used her DMR to shoot down three Tex-drones in rapid succession. One came at her from close behind, only for Asa to appear and block it, following by revving up her assault rifle's bayonet and using the chainsaw-attachment to cut the drone apart in a shower of sparks. She then turned the gun on several more approaching drones, firing short bursts to mow them down, Kaede adding her gun's fire.

Grif blasted two more drones with his Brute Shot, only to be tackled by two more and held down. Three more leapt high, aiming for a triple-strike… and were blown out of the air by Subaru's fuel-rod cannon. The cyborg rushed in and delivered a Vibration Shatter to one of the drones holding Grif, destroying it and sending its body crashing into the other, knocking it away. The two of them reloaded their heavy weapons and kept going.

Teana darted through Tex-drones, having now switched Mirage to dual Pistol Mode. She gunned down several in close succession and close range, using the one Force skill she had – Combat Guidance, a skill normally used with lightsabers – to know exactly when & where to shoot which weapon to score a hit (Marie called it 'Teana's Gun-Kata'). In a flash of orange light, she switched to Mirage Sniper, firing a few close-range particle-beam shots, each of which punched clean through at least three drones. She then switched to Mirage Rifle in burst-fire mode, firing a 3-shot to take down a Tex-bot trying to sneak up on Donut 15 meters away before returning to her own drones.

Sarge and Mana had teamed up, covering each other as they waded through Tex-drones. Mai was covering Tucker, while Aqua covered Simmons, and Caboose continued his stint as a one-man army. The Tex-drones' numbers were quickly being depleted in the face of the 21 soldiers, falling in droves. Against this onslaught, they were quickly contained and picked off.

Finally, the last Tex-drone fell, split in half lengthwise by a downward swing of Tucker's sword.

"Status check!" Teana called out. "Everyone okay?"

A chorus of affirmatives answered her. No-one had been seriously injured. The fight had been a curb-stomp in the heroes' favor.

"So…" Simmons said. "I guess our work here is done?"

"There's still the Director" Wash replied.

"No" Church said to them. "You guys stay here. What comes next… is something Carolina and I need to do alone."

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Innermost Room of Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility**

**Seven Minutes Later**

"Beginning playback" a computerized female voice said.

A man sat, alone in the dark room, hunched over a table, eyes fixed upon a large screen that showed a recording of a blond-haired young woman in UNSC Marine Corps fatigues, annoyed but grinning.

"_Leonard, come on_" the recording said. "_Stop it, put that thing down. You're gonna make me late. They're waiting for you._"

"Hello, Director."

The man raised his head slightly. "Hello, Agent Carolina" he said. "Would you like to watch this movie with me?"

"No" the woman replied.

"…Play it again, FILSS."

"Director?" FILSS questioned.

"Again!"

"So this is what you've become…" Carolina said softly.

"I… just need to watch this. I think I have a way… a way to bring her back right this time."

"The authorities are hunting you now; I came here with Agent Washington and UNSC Gamma Team, which is led by a Spartan-3."

"I just need a bit more time…"

"No!" Church appeared, floating over to beside the Director. "You've _had _your fucking time! You have to answer now for what you did – to Maine, to Washington, to the Twins, to York, to Carolina, to me, and to _her _– to Texas!"

"…Hello, Epsilon. You came all this way just to see me?"

"I'm here to remember what you've done. _Somebody _has to!"

"Church…" Carolina spoke.

"Not all of us got off scot-free, Carolina" the AI said. His form began to shift into the different AI fragments: Delta: "He was brilliant," Theta: "…and we trusted him!" Gamma: "But he lied to us. He twisted" Omega: "and tortured us, and used us!" Sigma "Manipulated us for his own purposes! And for _what_?-! For _this_? This… _shadow_?-!" And then he returned to Epsilon-Alpha. "He needs to pay!"

Carolina removed her helmet and stared down at the man. The Director removed his glasses and looked up at her, one set of green eyes meeting another. Carolina felt sadder with each moment she looked at him.

"He's already paying for it, Church" she said. "More than you think. Even more than I wanted him to before Wash made me realize what I was becoming. …Come on, Church. We're leaving."

"I thought we came all this way to kill him!"

"Church… Remember what you learned in the memory unit? …You need to let go. Your past doesn't define who you are. It just gives you the starting point for who you're going to be."

As she turned to leave, the Director spoke.

"Carolina, would you be so kind as to leave me your pistol?"

Without a word, she removed her M6D and laid it on the table.

"Thank you, Michelle."

For once, Carolina did not feel the urge to flinch upon hearing her full real name, normally hated for being 'too girly' ever since she was a young tomboy teen, when she'd much preferred "Mikey" or "Mick". Instead, this time it felt natural, for some reason.

"Goodbye, father" she said, and then walked away.

"…You were my greatest creation."

"…I don't know what I am," Church said to the man, "but I do know this. I've become far more than just an altered copy of you. I'm _better _than you."

"…I won't argue with that… Church. Oh, and before you go, there's something I need you to inform the Spartan about."

"And that is?"

"The Black Suns have a stolen UNSC warship stationed on this planet – a _Paris_-class heavy frigate, currently stationed around 3,000 kilometers west of here. Have her inform her superiors that they'll need to send a capital ship if they wish to deal with it."

"Right… Thanks."

Church then left, catching up with Carolina. Director Leonard Church Sr. then turned to the AI interface.

"Play it again, FILSS."

"Beginning playback" the AI replied.

"Thank you, FILSS. Now, I would like you to erase all our files except for this one, and then upload yourself to the Spartan's team. You will assist them and our former Agents in whatever endeavors they may face in the future."

"Yes, Director."

"And before you do, please shut down all of the facility systems as well. Take everything offline."

"Director, this is a sealed facility. If I shut down all the systems, life-support would not-"

"Thank you, FILSS. Shut them all down. Lock me in."

"Alright. Was the Project a success, sir? Did you find what you were looking for?"

The door began to close.

"No. No, I did not. But I believe I might have come very close. I wish… I wish I knew."

"I see."

"Perhaps the next time around…"

He raised the pistol to his chin.

"It has been an honor, sir" FILSS said. "Goodbye."

The heavy metal doors slid shut, muffling the single *crack!* that came from within right after one final recorded comment was heard:

"_Don't say goodbye_. _I hate goodbyes._"

Outside, a few minutes later, a single cyan-armored figure walked out, a white-armored hologram sitting on her right shoulder.

"It's done" she said simply.

"You killed the Director?" Wash asked.

"No" Church replied. "He took his own life."

"About a minute ago," Teana said, "an AI calling herself 'Phyllis' uploaded herself to my armor."

"She was the Director's personal AI" Carolina replied. "He bequeathed her to us."

"I see…"

"Also," Church added, "the Director said that about 3,000 klicks west of here, the Black Suns have a stolen heavy frigate – _Paris_-class."

"Damn" Teana muttered. "I'll contact Colonel Holland and Shipmaster Arum."

"For now, let's get out of here" Aqua said. "I think you guys have earned some R&R, and we need to properly explain to you all about our multi-dimensional coalition, and the events we've taken part in."

A few minutes later, a pair of Pelicans departed from the facility, heading back for Valhalla Outpost. Far below them, a trio of men in passive camouflage gear watched them fly away.

"Recon-12 to _Nightfall_" one reported. "Potential targets sighted traveling north-by-northwest in two DC77s. Advise?"

"_Recon-12, this is _Nightfall" a man's voice replied over ultra-secured comm. channel. "_Pursue at your discretion. Do not engage; report any intel back to us._"

"Confirmed, _Nightfall_. Recon-12 out."

The men moved out in a stealth-customized Warthog. Parangosky's will would be carried out.

**-****_CHAPTER END_****-**

Obviously, the fic is not over. Chapter 3 should hopefully be up in a few days. Hopefully.


	3. Plan of Attack

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Planet Dolus**

**Valhalla Outpost**

**August 16****th****, 2553**

After everyone had returned to Valhalla the previous day, the 'Local Group' (the Reds, Blues, Doc, Wash, & Carolina) had been shown the entirety of the coalition's 'data-footage' regarding events on worlds past; thankfully, the temporal distortion field was still active, so the entire viewing 'only' lasted until 10:30 at night. Now it was 10:30 the next morning and they were _still _talking about all the things they'd seen.

"I still can't believe the war against the Covenant's been over for half a year and we hadn't heard!" Grif said.

"Well, we've been stuck here on this planet for a few years now," Simmons replied, "and this world's pretty out-of-the-way, plus it seems like the Director deliberately had us kept in the dark on outside events. Still… _I _can hardly believe we actually have the Elites on our side now! And most of the Grunts and Hunters!"

"And there was that stuff with the Halos and the Forerunners and the Flood…" Grif shuddered. "Christ, those things were just _wrong_…"

"At least their leader's dead… I hope."

"And those ninjas and mages... Lanstar could've flattened that entire army of Tex-bots by herself! So why didn't she?"

"Apparently she loves a challenge, so she holds her power back to a degree depending on who or what she's fighting."

"Well, she coulda held back a little less, enough at least to prevent me from getting nut-punted… And whaddya think about that kid Erika?"

"You mean besides the fact that she's adorable?"

"…Okay, yeah, she's adorable. And did you see her fight? I didn't think something so cute could be badass."

"…And you're saying that _after _the first set of footage was a little nine-year-old in a poofy white dress and pink wings of magic using her BFG to dish out enough firepower to scrap a Covenant Scarab four times over?"

"…Good point."

As the two chatted, standing atop a flat boulder a little ways from Red Base, the ONI-S3 agent crept up behind them through the foliage. These two were confirmed to be former members of Project Freelancer's "simulation trooper" division; thus, they would die first. He slowly raised his silenced M6C pistol, aiming for the back of Grif's head… and, as he fired, Grif and Simmons spun to the side in a dodge, drawing their sidearms in fluid motion, and put four rounds into the surprised agent's center mass. He fall backward, coughing blood, as the two Reds hopped down and walked up to him.

"Guess what, asshole?" Grif said. "Earlier this morning Lanstar gave us motion trackers to install in our armor. Nice try, though."

He then delivered a _coup de grace _between the eyes of the agent.

"I wonder who this joker belonged to?" he wondered.

"Hey," Simmons said, "I recognize that visor system. It has a built-in camera that transmits data back to another location."

"Crap. So that means they probably know that we know they're there."

"Better go warn the others" Simmons said as he used the butt of his gun to smash the visor/camera (it was already damaged by Grif's bullet punching through it, but Simmons wasn't taking any chances).

A few minutes later, everyone had gathered around inside Red Base.

"Yeah, this is definitely one of Parangosky's goons" Teana said, inspecting the body. "What I don't know is how they'll react. If their presence here is small, they'll likely abort for a while and try again later when they think our guard is down, maybe in another location. …If they brought enough friends along, though, they could try to attack us soon now that their cover's blown."

"We should fortify our defenses" Washington suggested. "Just to be sure."

"Alright," Aqua said, "Tucker, Caboose, Washington, we should probably have you all stationed here; Red Base has better defenses than Blue Base, and it'll be easier if we only have to defend one location instead of two."

"I'll set up some autoturrets" Ginga said. "Simmons, Mana, help me with this, would ya?"

"I'll place some mines and other booby-trap stuff" Marie said. "Carolina, Subaru, help me out?"

"I'll go make sure our long-range scanners are working" Church said as he appeared from a nearby terminal.

"And I'll contact the Colonel and the Shipmaster," Teana said, "inform them of the situation."

"I'll make sure our weapons are ready" Sarge said. "Grif, Caboose, you're with me on this."

"I'll go conceal and set up defenses around my veggie garden," Donut said, "so those spooks don't squash my squash."

"…Shion, go with Donut, just in case there are more of these guys out there."

"End of one adventure, start of another…" Carolina mused.

"The rest of you, go secure our vehicles" Teana ordered. "Get them over here, conceal them but put them where we can make a quick getaway if things go FUBAR. And maybe we can add one or two of the Warthogs' chainguns to the defense."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Alright, people, let's make this place a fortress!"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Valhalla Outpost**

**40 Minutes Later**

"_This is Gamma Actual to all groundside teams_" Col. Holland reported over the comm. "_Black Sun forces sighted approaching Valhalla Outpost. It looks like Parangosky's spooks have chosen to nudge the pirates in your direction rather than get their hands dirty directly. I'm sending you guys some help, but the hostiles __will__ get there before reinforcements do. Do your best to hold out against them._"

"Copy that, sir" Teana replied. "We're ready as we're gonna be."

"_Good luck, Gamma. Holland out._"

"Did everyone get that?"

"_Yeah, we got it_" Wash replied. "_Let's just hope they don't send __too__ many after us…_"

"_Hey Wash, what can you tell us about these 'Black Suns' guys?_" Subaru asked.

"_They're the oldest operating "extra-legal" group; they were founded in 2378. They're a large and powerful crime syndicate who have their hands in all sorts of dirty business – narcotics trafficking, slavery, illegal mining, piracy, corruption of government officials, cyber-attacks, even high-profile theft of UNSC property now & then, not to mention scavenging off battlefields left behind by other factions' fights. They've also worked as hired guns for the Insurrection, performing terror ops and harassing UNSC cargo ships. We thought they'd been wiped out by the Covenant. It seems we were wrong in that assumption; they just went into hiding._"

"And now that The War is over and the Covenant are pretty much finished as a superpower," Teana said, "the Black Suns are thriving on the leftovers of such a massive conflict."

"_I got eyes on two Pelicans, both with Black Suns markings_" Church reported. "_Everybody get ready; they're here!_"

The teams quietly took position, as the two hostile dropships touched down, disgorging a total of 17 Black Sun troopers, three of them in stolen and altered/customized ODST armor. What caught the eyes of the heroes, however, was the very un-human structure of five of the troopers.

"Kig-Yar…" Teana muttered as she surveyed the hostiles through the scope of Mirage Sniper. "So the Black Suns have Jackals in their ranks now. …Why am I not surprised?"

"_They're coming up on a trap_" Marie reported. "_Hold fire, guys._"

The hostiles advanced toward the Red Base, weapons readied. Soon, the ones on point walked between a pair of shrubs… and Marie remotely set off the two claymore mines hidden there. The blasts killed a Kig-Yar and two human troopers, and wounded one of the ODST-armor-wearing ones. The 14 survivors went on alert, looking around for other traps.

"Tucker, Fuyō, fire on my mark" Teana ordered.

Each of the three snipers picked a target. After several seconds, Teana fired, a beam of charged particles accelerated to Mach 2 lancing out, burning a hole through the helmet and head of the wounded ODST-armor-wearer. Half a second later, Tucker fired the SRS99D rifle he'd been given for this op (Church had personally vouched for Tucker's marksmanship skills), blowing through the upper torso of a Black Sun soldier carrying an M19 rocket launcher. Kaede F.'s shot a fourth of a second after Tucker's, fired from a PLF 'Longshot', killed another B.S. trooper carrying an SRS99C rifle.

The remaining Black Sun soldiers immediately dove for cover behind the rocks, the four remaining Jackals activating their shields. The defenders, being in no real hurry, simply waited them out. When the pirates eventually decided to rush the base, the three snipers picked off six more. Four more were gunned down as they came within range of an autoturret, and as the last one turned and tried to run he was taken out by a shot from Wash's rifle.

"_More dropships inbound_" Church reported. "_It looks like they've got a vehicle this time._"

Three more Black Sun Pelicans flew in, one of them dropping off an M12G1 Gauss Warthog. The vehicle began driving about, the gunner pelting the structure with hypersonic metal slugs. A rocket from Simmons was easily dodged by the mobile vehicle, and the maroon-armored soldier avoided decapitation via gauss round by only a few feet. Teana, realizing that this thing was enough of a threat to warrant 'unique methods', cast a Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_, the 23 magical arrows racing out, tracking the vehicle. Around seven of them hit the gunner, killing him and wrecking the gun; a few more hit the rear wheels, blowing them off and leaving the vehicle to skid to a stop.

A particle-beam from a Kig-Yar Sniper barely missed Tucker's head; Tucker's return shot didn't miss, blowing the avian alien's head apart. An armored pirate trooper with a jetpack tried to fly up and get an angle with his stolen Fuel-Rod Cannon on the roof, where Teana, Tucker, and Asa were. Teana simply used her _Sharingan _to track the man and put a particle beam through his chest, punching through his heart and detonating the jetpack, sending his corpse hurtling down to the ground. While this was happening, a handful of Black Sun soldiers had reached the base, only to be now met by a hail of gunfire from two autoturrets. Their focus caught by the autoguns, they were easy pickings for Mana, Sarah, and Caboose, who peeked out through the two doorways and added their shots to the guns'.

Subaru stationed near a second-floor window, firing rounds from a UNSC M319 grenade launcher down at the pirates. A small part of her questioned the morality of casually killing these men, but the rest of her mind squashed that; these people were vicious members of a dangerous and ruthless crime syndicate responsible for the deaths of dozens of millions of people over the centuries. And if she didn't kill them, someone else would, anyway. Several meters to her left, Kaede F. fired her Longshot every several seconds through the other second-story window, gunning down more Black Sun soldiers.

A boom and a rising plume of soil signaled the detonation of one of Marie's 'Antlion' anti-personnel mines, blowing apart a Black Sun Kig-Yar and two human pirates. Soon, however, another threat made itself known: a flight of four AV-14 Hornets, all painted in Black Sun colors. Upon sighting them, one of the heroes' Warthogs rode out, Ahsoka driving and Carolina manning the gun. The ex-Freelancer fired the chaingun at the closest Hornet, ripping its thrusters apart and sending it plummeting. Two more gave chase, firing their rockets and machineguns at the vehicle as it drove about, dodging fire. A rocket streaked up from the roof, courtesy of Simmons, and impacted one of the Hornets just behind the cockpit, sending it spiraling down to the ground in flames. Carolina managed to shoot down the other pursuer.

The fourth Hornet was pounding the base with its rockets, trying to bust a wall down and get a clear shot on the defenders inside. It did not catch sight of Grif carefully aiming his Brute Shot upward. The propelled grenade detonated against the Hornet's underside, sending it off-balance. The pilot regained control in time to catch a few rounds from a Concussion Rifle fired by Sarge, the aircraft now trailing smoke from accumulated damage. Before it could retreat, a few well-placed shots from Washington hit something vital, and the craft dropped like a rock to the ground below.

Two more Black Sun Pelicans flew into the canyon, one of them carrying a Warthog. Suddenly, however, a barrage of heavy plasma fire smashed into the lead Pelican's side, fired by the green-plated Phantom dropship that flew in from the east. The wounded pirate dropship listed, trailing smoke and dropping its Warthog, which hit the ground hard. It tried to escape, only for another volley to take out both its rear engines, leaving it to crash back down. The other Black Sun Pelican tried to bug out, but a barrage of rocket fire from an arriving UNSC Pelican took it down.

"Cavalry's here!" Teana reported to those who hadn't noticed.

The two coalition dropships touched down and disgorged their troops – nine UNSC marines, four Sangheili (three Minor, one Major), and a pack of 12 Unggoy. The pirates, already on the losing side, were quickly crushed between the coalition forces. After all was done, six pirates had surrendered after the rest fell, without a single coalition casualty. With the area secured, the heroes exited Red Base, waiting outside it as the leader of the reinforcements – a UNSC Marine Corps Captain – walked up; they saluted him.

"Nice defense you folks have set up here" the Captain said. "These Black-Sun bastards didn't stand a chance of breaking through."

"We had no idea how much we'd be up against," Washington replied, "so we thought it best to prepare for the worst. The actual amount of hostiles we faced was significantly less than we anticipated."

"Still, you did well. And while you folks were puttin' the fear of the UNSC into these jackholes, our orbital drones managed to pinpoint the location of their headquarters on this planet – including their ship, the frigate _Procyon_."

"So are we going after them next?" Carolina asked.

"Indeed we are. Rather than destroy a perfectly good frigate, though, we plan to board and capture it, add it to the UNSC's Navy, which is still in bad need of warships. It could prove a little easier than anticipated: the _Procyon _is presently ground-docked and undergoing maintenance. If we can get in there and take control before they can lift off, it'll be easier than tryin' to board it when it's already space-borne."

"And if we're lucky," Shion said, "we might find a lead on Parangosky's goons."

The man nodded. He then turned to the Blood-Gulchers. "I've been instructed to bring you all to the _Starshot _to meet the bosses and maybe get that old armor upgraded. Now, we're not gonna _make _you join up properly with the coalition and help fight our battles, but the option is available to you."

"We'll consider it" Church said as he appeared on Carolina's shoulder.

"Also," the man continued, "we just got a new shipment from the _Infinity_: new weapons, fresh from R&D. Gamma Team, Sigma Team, if you girls would like to come see what we've got…"

"Sure thing, Captain" Teana replied.

Within minutes, they were aboard dropships and on the way up.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

_**Starshot**_

**Port Hangar 2**

**20 Minutes Later**

The Blood-Gulch Crew looked around in wonder as they stepped out of the Pelican.

"If you folks would follow me…" the Marine Captain said. "We'll get you new guys your armor upgrades – better power supplies, VISR systems, energy shields, stuff like that – later. First lemme show you all our new toys."

He led them all through a few corridors, eventually reaching an armory, where several weapons sat on a large table. The Captain left, and a Gunnery Sergeant came out.

"First off," the G-Sgt. said, "I'll show you the newest models of gun types already in use." He picked up an M6 pistol that showed subtle differences from the C, D, and E models. "This is the M6H Magnum" he said. "The newest in the M6 series. Pretty much the same gun, with a few minor technical improvements that I won't bore you with."

He then lifted an assault rifle off the table. There were subtle differences in the shape of the grip and stock, and in intricate structure.

"This here is the MA5D assault rifle" he said. "Technically, this baby's been in service for a few years already. But the brass are gettin' set to phase it in as the go-to for marines."

He set the assault rifle down and picked up a battle rifle that bore slight differences in the framework, as well as a different scope.

"This is the BR85 Heavy-Barrel Scoped Rifle – the new battle rifle. It's… pretty much the same as the old one."

He next picked up a gun with a long barrel and an impressive-looking scope.

"This is the M398 Designated Marksman Rifle, set to replace the M395 that's been in use for at least 40 years. They improved the scope a bit, and recoil's a tad easier to handle now, too."

He put it down and picked up a sniper rifle, which carried a new type of scope and a slightly different muzzle brake, along with other tiny changes.

"And this is the SRS99 S5, successor to the S2. Once again, it's basically minor changes."

He set it down.

"Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, I can show you the _new _stuff. First is this."

He picked up a rifle that carried a drum magazine.

"This is the M739 Light Machine Gun" he said. "The boys are calling it the SAW, for 'Squad Automatic Weapon'. Basically, consider it the MA5's bigger, meaner brother. With a 72-round drum magazine, you can dish out a lot of pain with this fella. Reloadin's a bitch, though."

He set it down and picked up a pistol-looking weapon with a large, fat, round thing attached to the front.

"This is the M363 Remote Projectile Detonator, or the Sticky Detonator. It fires a magnetic explosive shaped charge that can be manually detonated. It has a fold-out screen on the left which shows a motion tracker display from the view of the fired projectile, so you can wait until the opportune moment to inflict maximum carnage!"

The Gunnery Sergeant then set the weapon down and picked up a large rifle-looking weapon with two 'prongs' stacked atop each other.

"This bad boy" he said "is the new Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine 920, otherwise known as… the Railgun."

"We have _portable railguns _now?" Marie said. "Awesome!"

"Yep! It fires a 16-by-65 millimeter round at hypersonic velocity. Oh, and did I mention the rounds that it fires are explosive?"

"I'm gonna _love _using that thing…" Marie was almost drooling over the awe-inspiring weapon.

"Our last new addition isn't UNSC made. Hell, it's not _human_-made. Apparently, now that they're not lettin' the Prophets' bullshit guide them, the Sangheili are finally gettin' innovative!"

He pulled out a long, smooth-curved, bluish-purple weapon with a long, thin barrel.

"This is the new Sangheili Type-55 Directed Energy Rifle, a.k.a. the Storm Rifle. It's got a modular coil set, a high-mounted cooling shroud, an extended barrel, and other stuff. The Sangheili haven't decided yet whether they want this thing to replace the T-52 or just supplement it."

"This is definitely impressive" Teana said.

"Oh, honey, you ain't seen our biggest new toy yet. Follow me, folks."

The group followed the Gunnery Sergeant to a nearby vehicle bay. There, they stared at a blocky-looking machine crouched on the ground on two legs. The G-Sgt waved to a marine standing behind it, and he waved back and climbed in. The group watched as the machine came to life and stood up, towering over them at around 20 feet tall.

"This," the Gunnery-Sergeant said, "is the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark-9 Armor Defense System. An M655 Heavy Machinegun on the right arm, an M5920 Missile Launcher on the left, ultra-advanced hydraulics in the legs, high-strength energy shields, and the ability to literally stomp your foes into mush! This is the UNSC's newest war machine! Ladies & gentlemen, I give you the Mantis!"

"…I think I'm in love…" Mana muttered.

"We also got two more vehicles in development, though we don't have either of 'em aboard this ship yet. The UNSC and the Sangheili are both finishing up work on new classes of ultra-large troop transports – the Mammoth and the Lich, respectively. The Mammoth has a back-mounted MAC capable of hitting targets in orbit, and the Lich is supposedly slipspace-capable."

"Jeez, we're really goin' into high gear with the new stuff, aren't we?" Subaru asked.

"I have a feeling we're gonna need it" Teana replied. "Now how about we give you guys a tour of the ship while we're here?"

The tour was basic, lasting about an hour. Toward the end of it, the group came into an out-of-the-way room containing several monitoring devices around a large raised circular platform, which had a series of cracks and fissures spread across its surface.

"And this is the Precursor device the resurrected Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody" Teana explained.

"Why's it glowing?" Grif asked.

"Don't be foolish, it's… not…"

But indeed, a pale green light was issuing forth through the cracks, from within the machine.

"It's still active…" Teana whispered, eyes wide.

Before everyone's eyes, the device slowly unfolded, the light growing.

"It's still active!"

Portions of the artifact broke free, swirling and circling over and around it in ways that made the spectators' eyes hurt to watch, causing them to look away lest they be sick. A deep bass hum built up, rising in pitch until it was almost high. There was a bright flash of light, and the sound of three bodies hitting the floor in front of the device. Upon completing its task, the already-taxed Precursor machine fragmented completely, its light going out as it fell apart, its pieces & parts then breaking down into glowing green particles that faded away into nothingness.

"My God…" Carolina whispered. "I… I can't believe it… Is it really them?"

The three figures were all wearing full-body armor. The first was wearing armor of the same type as Washington's, only it was tan with white 'accents'. The second was in similar armor, though dark purple with green 'accents'. The third figure's armor was radically different, looking more like heavily customized ODST armor, deep blue in color.

"Who're these guys?" Simmons asked.

"I can't believe it…" Marie muttered. "They're back… And who's the blue guy?"

Wash turned to the group.

"This is just fucking crazy… It's Agents New York, North Dakota, and Florida."

"Wait, Florida?" Marie asked. "I thought that something never-explained yet tragic and/or terrible happened to Florida."

"That was a cover story" Church replied as he appeared on Carolina's shoulder. "He got assigned to some secret op. I don't know what or where, though. I didn't know he was dead, either."

"Let's get them to the medical wing" Teana said. "And we need to inform Colonel Holland and Shipmaster Arum."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

_**Starshot **_**Medical Wing**

**Three Hours Later**

It had taken around 40 minutes before the three freshly-resurrected Freelancers regained consciousness. It had then taken over two hours to explain everything to them.

"So the Director's dead…" York mused.

"Yeah…" Carolina replied, sitting beside him. "Shot himself yesterday. …I spent years hunting him down, but… Wash made me realize how far I was falling, how close to the abyss I was getting. And when I found the Director, saw what he'd become, how much he'd been… damaged… I couldn't do it. He asked for my pistol, and I gave it to him. He gave us FILSS, gave us some intel on the Black Suns, and then… did my job for me."

York closed his eyes, pensive. "And now I'm caught up in a multi-dimensional thing."

"Pretty much. …I still find it hard to believe that when that Precursor device brought you three back, it brought Gamma and Theta back, too. Epsilon-Alpha is still 'complete', possessing the remnants of Gamma & Theta within himself, and yet now they're also existing outside of him simultaneously."

"I never really thought too hard about the fine points of AI stuff" York replied with a grin. "I always left that kinda headache-inducing line of thought to Delta."

In another room, North and Wash sat with their helmets off, having since completed explanations and talked about other things.

"It's like York said back then, I guess" North said. "The galaxy's moving too fast, and we're just trying to keep up."

"Yeah…" Wash replied. "And we get trampled if we can't…"

North frowned lightly; having heard it from the man himself, he could understand why Washington's cheerful innocence was long gone, but it was still sad to think about the loss of something so pure. What hurt him more, though, was learning the circumstances behind his own death: his own beloved little sister had betrayed and murdered him just to save her own skin… and she had apparently been looking for an opportunity to do so for quite some time, having grown to hate him out of jealousy at some point. Normally so observant, North was shocked that he had somehow managed to miss the subtle signs until it was too late.

Outside the third room, Marie hung out with Caboose and Tucker. Church appeared on a nearby holo-terminal.

"Alright," Church said, "Lanstar just finished explaining things to Agent Florida. Lemme see if I can tap into the camera for that room and see anything. …Hm, our blue friend has his… helmet… off…"

"What's wrong, Church?" Tucker asked.

"…Oh… Oh, no way… No fucking way!" the AI was in utter shock. "Holy shit, you've gotta be _kidding_ me!"

"What is it?" Marie asked, alarmed.

"Agent Florida is Captain Flowers!" Church exclaimed. "Flowers is a _Freelancer_!"

Marie and Tucker had simultaneous jaw-drops (though you couldn't tell with the latter, what with his helmet).

"I always knew there was something special-secret about him…" Caboose said. "I just wasn't sure what. …Y'know, this is actually only the _third _most shocking possibility I'd considered; I'd have been even more shocked if he'd been, like, a straight robot or, um, if he were really _made_ of flowers inside that armor…"

"Freelancers back to life, the Director's Carolina's dad, Captain Flowers is Florida…" Marie was muttering. "This is an entire season's worth of plot twists…"

Teana walked out of the room, and the Blues promptly walked in, Church piggybacking in/on Tucker's armor.

"So…" Flowers said. "You boys have been busy…"

As they talked, Teana and Marie walked away, stopping by a window-projection, staring out into the starry void.

"While I was talking to Mr. Flowers," Teana said, "I got word from Colonel Holland. Yesterday, the UNSC _Infinity _found Halo Installation 03."

"Already?" Marie asked. "What are they gonna do with it?"

"Study it, apparently. They're planning to construct an orbital research base – Ivanoff Station."

"Hmm…"

The Reds came up, joining the girls in looking at the stars.

"Helluva view" Sarge remarked. "It's been a decade since I've last been on a ship and able to do this."

"You gotta wonder what else is out there that we haven't found yet" Grif mused. "I mean, besides five Halo rings."

"Four" Teana corrected. "The _Infinity _found Zero-Three yesterday."

"Still…" Simmons said, his attention focused on a moving object drifting past the ship. "Huh…" he looked closely.

"What's up?" Washington asked as he came up, joining them.

"Look at that thing, guys" Simmons pointed to the object. "It looks like… Is that a person?"

"Yeah, that definitely looks like a body" Donut said.

"Must've been drifting for a while, I think" Teana said. She looked close and winced. "Ooh, that looks bad. Well, we know what killed him. Is that the remnants of a jetpack on his back?"

"Yeah, I think it is" Wash replied. He stared closely. "It kinda… Wait… Is that…? It can't be… …I think… It _is_! Holy fuck, that's Georgia!-!"

"Or what's left of him" Simmons added.

"Who?" Sarge asked.

"Long story."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Briefing Room**

**90 Minutes Later**

The Reds, Blues, Freelancers, Gamma, and Sigma were all gathered in the briefing room, along with five AIs – Church, Sheila, Phyllis, Gamma, and Theta.

"T-There's so many people…" Theta remarked nervously.

"Relax, kid" Church said, laying a comforting hand on his "brother's" shoulder. "These guys are cool. You're fine."

The door opened, and everyone saluted as Colonel Urban Holland entered the room.

"At ease" he said. "I'll now give you an outline of our plan of attack. Tomorrow, at 1015 hours, we will initiate our attack on the Black Sun base, with the goal of capturing the _Procyon_, and the secondary objective of crippling their operations on this planet. You all, along with a handful of other operatives who will be joining us this evening, will be tasked with infiltrating the frigate. Once there, your AIs will interface with the _Procyon_'s systems and lock its engines down, preventing it from lifting off. Then, you will make your way to the bridge and neutralize the command crew."

"What about the legion of Black Sun troopers _outside _the vessel?" Carolina asked. "We can't fight them all."

"Yeah," Marie said, "we'll need something _really _distracting. Like a bomb. Or a fake Covenant attack. Or several dozen people rushing forward while screaming 'Leeroy Jenkins!'. …Or Grif's sister's ping-pong ball trick."

Grif shuddered.

"Yeah" Carolina said, and then double-took, looking at Grif & Marie. "Wait, what?"

"Don't worry" Holland said. "Tonight, two Raynor's Raiders vessels – the _Blunt Dagger _and the _Halberd _– will arrive. Tomorrow, their forces and the _Starshot_'s will launch a coordinated assault, both to cut down on the Black Suns' numbers and to distract them while you all wreak your havoc inside the _Procyon_. Any questions?"

"What about Parangosky's agents?" Washington asked.

"We'll have our own ONI operatives trying to track them down. Also, hopefully we might get some intel on them from the Black Suns."

"If I may interrupt, sir?" Phyllis asked.

"Go ahead" the Colonel replied.

"Delta and I have been going over records, and we have just discovered something interesting. Apparently, shortly after the Precursor device resurrected Agents New York, North Dakota, and Florida, something was transmitted out through slipspace comms. We have been unable to identify what it was, but it seems to have not been sent by any crewmen. It is almost as if it sent itself…"

"Curious… Keep an eye on the slipspace fields in this system; it could be benign, but we should be careful. Now, any other questions from our operatives?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"Good. Freelancers, Blood-Gulchers, report for armor upgrades. Everyone, enjoy the rest of the day, and get a good night's sleep. You'll be departing at 0955 hours tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Next time: the assault on the Black Sun base.


	4. Unexpected Interference

Do yourselves a favor: get some tissues for this one.

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

_**Starshot**_

**August 16****th****, 2553**

**2150 Hours**

Teana lay back in her bed in her quarters, clothes on the floor, eyes closed as Subaru – equally nude – lay atop her, nuzzling her neck. She gave a light moan as Subaru's left hand squeezed.

"You think things are gonna go according to plan tomorrow?" Subaru asked softly as her head moved down Teana's body.

"I should hope so" the redhead replied. "Three ships' worth of soldiers attacking from the outside, while four spec-ops teams wreak havoc inside…"

"We'll just have to hope Parangosky's goons don't get involved" Subaru remarked, and then moved her head down just a little.

"Ah! Mmm…" Teana's left hand came up, holding Subaru's head in place as the blue-haired girl sucked lightly. "I j-just hope the Blood-Gulchers can h-handle this…" she struggled out.

After several seconds, Subaru removed her lips from their present 'target'. "They'll do fine" she said with a smile as her right hand snaked lower. "They managed to hold their own against those battle droids modeled after Agent Texas; two-bit pirates will be easier, especially with their armor upgrades."

The blue-haired girl then grinned, and Teana gasped and arched her back a little as a finger slipped inside.

"You don't need to worry, Tia" she said with a sultry whisper. "Everything'll turn out fine."

Teana nodded, her cheeks pink and her eyes half-closed. "E-Everything… f-fine…" she whispered. And then she squealed as Subaru's finger curled upward.

In another room, another member of the multi-team strike force was having some 'quality time' with her three Precious People. As Kōta straddled her, Kaede Kanade looked up at him, while the other two girls occupied themselves nearby.

"You sure it'll be okay doing this with both of them in here?" Kōta asked.

Kaede K. looked to her left, on the bed next to her, where Nozomi lay atop Aiko, both of them fully unclothed, breasts and lips pressed together, hands roaming.

"I think we'll be fine" she remarked.

In yet another room, Laicixa – the only one of the bed's occupants still awake, though she was falling asleep quickly – still felt a tad bashful about the situation she was currently in. Here she was, in this king-size bed, 'spooning' against Erio, who was in turn holding Caro from behind, and Caro in turn was holding Erika the same way, while Erika and Mariko were also holding each other tight, with Timmy holding Mariko from behind and resting his hand on Erika's bare side. And all six of them were wearing lower-body underwear (panties, boxers, diapers) and nothing else. On one hand, Laicixa surmised, it was a very good thing – she already had friends who trusted and cared enough for her to be comfortable with her like this. On the other, she was still a little shy about the whole thing, though it was certainly both comfortable and comforting.

Oh, what Mother and Big Sis would say if they could see this, she thought to herself.

Tomorrow, she would lead these five as one of five teams to infiltrate the Black Suns ship _Procyon_. But for now, she was a little girl snuggling with her five Very Special Friends.

Elsewhere, an armored figure took a few steps, his white armor with blue accents glinting in the light. Church looked down at his new robot body, which was promised to be noticeably more capable than his old ones. He flexed his fingers and made a fist, and then turned to the technician.

"I guess I better get re-used to having a body before the assault tomorrow" he said. "Lead me to the gym, please."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Sangheili Type-52 'Phantom' Dropship, on approach to grounded Black Sun **_**Paris**_**-class Heavy Frigate **_**Procyon**_

**Next Day – 1016 hours**

The dropship moved on, hidden by the Sangheili active camouflage device that enshrouded it, leaving it a rapidly-moving blur in the sky. The battle between the Black Suns and the coalition forces had begun, a barrage of Wraith mortars and Siege-Tank shells softening the defenders' forward lines. Inside the _Procyon_, the Black Suns were frantically trying to wrap up the ship's maintenances and get it ready for takeoff. The coalition did not intend to give them that chance.

The dropship swooped into the frigate's port hangar bay; while unnoticed by the exterior defenders, the huge noisy moving blur was easily detected by the guards in the hangar, but they were nonetheless helpless as the Phantom de-cloaked and unloaded with its three heavy plasma cannons, cutting them all down. The Phantom's side doors then folded down, and 30 armed and armored people leapt down from within the cramped dropship – Gamma Team, Sigma Team, Team Blood-Gulch, Lancer Squad (Carolina, North, York, and Florida; Wash was part of Team Blood-Gulch for this op), and the new TSAB Theta Team, composed of Erika, Erio, Caro, Timmy, Mariko, and led by Laicixa.

Church rushed over for a nearby console, shifting from his robot body and into the _Procyon_'s systems. After a few seconds, he reappeared and returned to his body.

"There" he said. "I've closed the fuel shutters to the reactor, _and _I've locked the engines in a diagnostic cycle. That should keep this thing grounded."

"I, meanwhile," Delta said as he appeared on York's shoulder, "have hacked the magnetic clamps holding the vessel to its dock. They will not disengage without my say-so."

"So this bucket of bolts isn't going anywhere" North said. "As long as none of these pirates are smart enough to undo what you two just did."

"Even if they were smart enough," Church replied, "they don't have the tech necessary to."

"Now we just have to fight our way up to the bridge," Teana said, "and neutralize the command crew."

"Infiltrate and annihilate" Sarge said. "Now this is my kinda op."

"Uploading ship schematics to everyone" Church said, as detailed maps appeared on everyone's HUDs, before then shrinking to a mini-display in the upper right corner, summonable by blinking twice while looking at it.

The five teams moved out, moving through two doors 100 feet apart on the far side of the hangar, following map-readings and waypoints as they began progressing through the passageways beyond. It wasn't long before they encountered resistance in the form of human and Kig-Yar troops. Teams Blood-Gulch and Lancer quickly discovered the benefits of their armor's new energy shields, allowing them to withstand the enemies' fire and then deal out their own, cutting the pirates down. They fought through the ineffectual resistance and regrouped near an elevator.

"So this will take us up to the bridge's level?" Wash asked.

"Well, no, not quite" Church replied. "It'll take us to the "main" level. From there, we have to make a few hundred meters' progress forward through the ship, and then we'll reach an elevator that'll lead to a higher level. Then we backtrack a bit to reach _another _lift that'll take us to the bridge."

"Jeez, nothing's ever simple, is it?" Mai remarked.

"Hey, it could be worse" Teana replied. "We could be infiltrating a cruiser. Let's move."

They all piled onto the lift, letting it carry them up. When it stopped and the big lift-doors opened, North and Teana brought their guns up, taking down the surprised Black Sun soldiers before they could even raise their weapons. Everyone filed out, weapons ready, looking in all directions.

"I was expecting more of them" Carolina said.

"Maybe they all went outside to fight the main assault force" Grif supposed.

"No, they would've stationed more guards than what we've seen so far" Ahsoka said. "I know how pirates work. Something's off here."

The five teams advanced through two parallel passageways that led to a single, huge chamber up ahead, according to Church – Gamma, Theta, and Lancer Teams took one way, Sigma and Blood-Gulch Teams the other. As Teana and Florida took point, they came across an entity that the former immediately recognized. She brought Mirage Rifle up in single-shot mode, firing a 7.62mm round through the Type-E demon's skull.

"Heads up, everyone" she reported. "We've got those things that attacked Midchilda."

"_Yeah, we know_" Wash replied. "_We just encountered a few Type-Gs._"

"_So now we're demon-slayers_" Grif said. "_Man, the past week has been __weird__…_"

They continued on for several more minutes, taking down Black-Sun troopers and the occasional demon. Soon, they regrouped in a large rectangular room – 85 meters long, 60 meters wide, and 52 meters high. It was worryingly empty, other than a few storage crates along the walls.

"What is this place?" Marie asked.

"Schematics indicate this is a specialized training area" Church replied. "There are holo-projectors to provide various locales and targets; they're offline now, though."

"We had one of these on the _Mother of Invention_…" Carolina reminisced. "Well, there were a few differences, but otherwise…"

"Why is it so quiet and empty?" Ginga asked. "You'd think they would try to make a stand here."

"We're so deep in that we can't even hear the battle outside anymore" Timmy observed. "…And I think our comms can't reach the outside, either."

A quick inspection revealed that the boy was correct; they were cut off from Command.

"This place feels wrong" Ahsoka said. "Tainted. Everyone, get ready. I think we're gonna have company soon."

For several seconds, there was nothing. But then, there was an unearthly screeching howl that echoes through the chamber. And demons began pouring out from the shadows, rushing towards the heroes from all directions.

(BATTLE MUSIC: _Halo 4 OST _– "Belly of the Beast")

"Ambush!" Asa shouted.

"All units, open fire!" Carolina shouted, drawing her plasma rifles and gunning down a charging Type-E.

"Holy shit, there's hundreds of them!" Grif shouted as he fired his BR85, picking off Type-Gs.

"That just means there's more to shoot, Private Grif!" Sarge replied as he blasted a Type-E with his M90 shotgun.

Teana switched Cross Mirage to dual Longsword Mode and rushed in, twin orange blades of superheated magical energy carving through the demonic entities with ease as she got to work. Erika and Laicixa summoned their Keyblades and started cutting hostiles down as well, Erio and Timmy covering them, while Caro flitted about, her & Friedrich firing blasts of magic and fire, and Mariko used her Needle Rifle to take down several more while using her vectors to hack apart any that came within ~11 meters of her.

North used his SRS99C-S5 to pick off targets of opportunity, mainly focusing on weapon-wielding Type-Es, while also using his M6D pistol on 'lesser' targets. Caboose, York, and Mana used MA5Ds to mow down Type-Gs, while Mai used an M739 SAW to bring down Type-Es that got too close. Ginga used a Sangheili concussion rifle to thin out Type-Gs, with Donut covering her against close-in threats with an M7 SMG. Subaru and Asa were both using PLF-provided weapons – a DC-15 blaster rifle and a 'Lancer', respectively – to gun down Type-Gs and –Es, as Tucker and Kaede F. provided accurate fire with their M398 DMRs. Aqua was wading through demons with her Keyblade, showing her skills as a Master as she took them down by the dozens with ease, while Ahsoka acted as her partner, lending her lightsabers to the cause. A well-placed rocket from Simmons blew six Type-Gs apart, while BR85 fire from Church finished off a few wounded survivors. A Type-E leapt at Donut from behind only to be smashed aside by Sarah's chakra-charged punch; she then used her momentum for a spin in which she drew her gravity hammer, taking out three Type-Gs with a swing.

But as the heroes kept fighting, the demons kept coming. Slowly but surely, they were forced into the center of the room, forming a massive, multi-layer defensive circle that was very slowly shrinking, as the horde kept pressing from all sides.

"There's too many of them!" Grif shouted as he fired his Brute Shot.

"I'm used to fighting overwhelming odds," Kaede K. said as she put a Sangheili Carbine bolt through a Type-E's head, "but never _this _bad!"

"We need help!" Marie shouted. "We need-"

Suddenly, a spot on the wall along the floor exploded inward, showering the area around it with dust, smoke, and debris. The attacking demons stopped, looking to the disturbance. A lone figure became visible walking through the smoke, black armor with dark-green trim visible, a BR85 magnetically attached to her back.

"The slipspace comm. transmission…" Church murmured. "It was her. The Precursor device brought her back, too…"

"Hey, guys!" Agent Texas said as she cracked her robotic knuckles. "Sorry I'm late! Hope you don't mind if I brought some new friends along!"

Behind Tex, five more armored figures were visible emerging through the settling smoke, taller than her, and clad in green MJOLNIR Mark-7 armor.

"Oh, hell yeah…" Mana said.

"Mind if we crash this part, guys?" Will-043 asked.

"I'd presume that they don't mind" Kelly-087 said.

"This reminds me of New Harmony" Fred-104 remarked.

"So many targets, so little time" Linda-058 mused.

The Master Chief John-117 stepped forward, MA5D assault rifle gripped in his hands.

"I'd say we got here just in time" Cortana said. "We do play the hero quite a bit, don't we?" He nodded, and then pointed his hand forward:

"Spartans, attack!"

The five Spartans and one top-class Freelancer rushed in, and a good chunk of the demons broke off and came forward to meet them. Bullets flew with expert precision, and demons began to die in droves. Their morale revitalized by the Spartans' appearance, the five teams' warriors redoubled their efforts, cutting into the enemy's numbers with earnest. Will fired his ARC-920, the supersonic explosive shell blowing a shielded Type-E to bits. A flock of Type-Fs appeared in the air near the ceiling, swooping down at the heroes, only to be blown out of the sky by a barrage of Light-type _Sagitta Magica _from Erika, Laicixa, and Aqua. Tex smashed her way through a few Type-Gs, catapulted over a Type-E (firing a round downward into its skull at the peak of her jump), and landed feet-first on a Type-G next to Carolina.

"It's good to see you're still alive, Carolina" she said. "So I heard you picked up where I left off and took care of the Director?"

"He 'took care' of himself, actually" Carolina replied as she used one of her plasma rifles to kill a Type-G. "All the years I spent hunting him down, and he shot himself."

"Damn shame what he allowed himself to become…"

"Y'know," Church said as he came into the scene, firing his BR85 at a Type-E, "this isn't the kind of situation I expected to run into you again in."

"C'mon, Church, you expected anything related to _me_ to be predictable?"

"Good point."

There was a flash of light as Marie fired a Sunburst, a spent magic cartridge clattering to the floor at her feet; the blast of Light magic obliterated two Type-Es and four Type-Gs. Shion Void-Jumped here & there, using her Void Blade to stab and slash anything close to her whenever she came out of a jump. Sarah swung her gravity hammer, pulverizing a Type-E's torso; she then spun the weapon around in her grip, swiping out with the blade on the back of the hammer-head and decapitating a Type-G. Subaru & Teana were double-teaming a pack of Type-Es, effortlessly outmaneuvering them and striking back hard and in perfect synch. Kaede F. stowed her DMR and formed a pair of bone-blades, shifting into _Tsubaki no Mai _formation and carving through demons with graceful ease.

Though the demonic entities continued to attack, it soon became apparent that new ones were no longer appearing. It wasn't long before they were whittled down to nothing. The last demon, a Type-E, fell to a shotgun blast from Kelly-087.

"That was damn good timing, sirs" Sarge said to the Spartans. "We were almost cooked."

"Ex-Agent Texas and Colonel Holland filled us in on the situation" Master Chief said to Teana. "Unfortunately, we were unable to contact you ahead of time. The nether-realmers' interference with the ship is blocking comms."

"How's the battle going out there?" she asked.

"About as you'd expect" he replied. "The Black Suns are trying their hardest, but it's plainly obvious they aren't going to last much longer."

"We've been able to determine that our unnatural foe cut a deal with the Black Sun leadership on this planet" Cortana said. "The pirates got a heap of credits out of it, not realizing that _they _will eventually have to pay in return…"

"We'd better get moving" Wash said.

"Alright," the Chief said, "one Spartan per team. Lindy, go with Sigma Team. Kelly, you're with Theta Team. Will, go with Lancer Team. Fred, you're with Blood-Gulch team. I'll accompany Gamma Team" he turned to Teana "if that's alright with you, ma'am."

Teana sighed. "Chief, I may _technically _outrank you now, but it's abundantly clear to _everyone _who is the better and more experienced soldier and leader. Henceforth, I officially cede command of myself and my subordinates to you, for this op and any other we may participate in together in the future… sir."

The Spartan nodded, and then turned to everyone. "Move out."

"Once we get to the next floor," Church said, "there are five routes to the lift that goes up to the bridge. We can split up – one team for each route. We'll cover all approaches and thin out their numbers."

"Be advised, the comm. interference gets worse as we get closer to the bridge" Cortana announced to everyone. "We'll probably lose contact with each other before long."

"I'll go with Team Blood-Gulch" Tex said. "I wanna see how these guys have improved since last time."

The now rather large force of spec-ops infiltrators soon reached the lift up to the next floor. Sure enough, their next trek split into five pathways, all leading for the same spot. They split up as planned, each team going down one. Per Cortana's prediction, it was less than five minutes in before each team lost radio contact with the other four. It wasn't long after that when they started encountering resistance.

-_Gamma Team_-

A 40mm rifle grenade from Mirage Rifle's underslung launcher attachment killed two Black Sun Jackals, and stunned a third that was quickly gunned down by the Chief's assault rifle. Marie had Charon in Power Beam form, gunning down a trio of Black Sun troopers, while Mai used her SAW to foil a flanking attempt. Sarah used her Lancer assault rifle to take down a pack of Type-Gs that tried to catch the squad from behind. Kaede F. and Shion fired accurate hits with an M398 DMR and a Sangheili Type-51 Carbine, respectively, taking out Type-Es and armored Black-Sun soldiers up ahead. Ahsoka wielded a Sangheili Type-55 Storm Rifle against a pack of Type-Gs, none of them even getting close enough for her to need her lightsabers.

The Master Chief spotted a Black Sun trooper carrying a rocket launcher. He rushed forward, ducking under a fired rocket, and gunned the man down, taking the launcher for himself. He then used the remaining rocket in the chamber to take down three Type-Es, and then tossed the empty weapon aside. Teana switched Mirage Rifle to burst-fire mode, 3-round shots taking out helmeted Black Sun soldiers. A Type-B demon leapt down from the ceiling, roaring a challenge… and got its head pulverized by Sarah's gravity hammer. Shion threw a plasma grenade that stuck to a Kig-Yar Marksman, detonating with enough force to vaporize its upper half and kill the human Black-Sun trooper who'd been next to it. An autoturret that folded out of the wall was quickly hacked by Cortana, being turned against its masters.

Carving through resistance, they continued on.

-_Theta Team_-

A Kig-Yar pirate died as the three pink crystals lodged in its neck detonated, tearing its head off. Erika then fired on full-auto with her Needler at a hostile autoturret; eight crystals 'supercombined' with great force, violently destroying the automated machinegun. Spartan-087 flitted about, using her incredible speed to get in close amongst the enemy soldiers and then using her M90 shotgun to bring them down. Timmy carried a BR55, using it to make precise shots alongside Mariko and her Needle Rifle, the two culling Type-G and Type-E numbers. Caro dual-wielded plasma pistols against a handful of Black Sun troops, while Erio used Strada to carve a pack of Type-Gs apart.

-_Lancer Squad_-

Two shots from Agent Florida's M398 DMR took down a Type-E and a Black-Sun Jackal Marksman. A Type-B came rushing out, only to get nailed by a shot from Spartan-043's railgun, blowing its torso open. Carolina's dual plasma rifles burned through a pack of Type-Gs, York covering her with his M45 shotgun. In these close quarters, North had his sniper rifle slung over his back, relying on an M6D pistol to make precise kills. When his shields got stripped by an overcharged plasma-pistol shot from a Jackal, Theta immediately called up a bubble-shield wall that blocked the shots just long enough for North's shields to recharge.

York ran over to a nearby storage room, finding an inactive combat droid, a six-wheeled thing about waist-high armed with two machineguns. He laid his palm on the device, and Delta hacked it, bringing it to life and programming it to recognize the Freelancers and Spartan as friendlies. It rolled out and brought its guns to life, opening fire on the enemy. Outside, Carolina bashed a Kig-Yar's skull in with the butt of one of her plasma rifles, while Will fired an MA5C at an approaching trio of Type-Gs.

-_Sigma Team_-

Aqua swung her Keyblade, beheading a Type-G. She heard a Black Sun trooper coming up behind her, but then something whooshed past her head before she could react. The Black-Sun soldier's head came apart, courtesy of Linda, and his body fell to the ground. Kaede K. took down a trio of Jackal Marksman and then reloaded her Sangheili Carbine, while nearby Mana gunned down a Type-E with her assault rifle. Aerial quad-rotor combat drones flitted in, light machineguns opening fire on the heroes. Subaru shouldered her DC-15 rifle and fired, blue blaster bolts taking down three of the droids. Asa's Lancer swatted the other two out of the air. A shot from Ginga's concussion rifle blew a light-armored Black Sun trooper's chest open in the front while also knocking him off his feet.

"You think we're gettin' close?" Mana asked.

"We're about two-thirds of the way there" Linda replied. "Not too much more."

-_Blood Gulch Team_-

Sarge's shotgun banged as he took down a Type-E that had tried to jump him, and then continued on. So far the group had encountered little resistance. …_Too _little, actually.

"I sense an ambush…" Church murmured in a sing-song tone.

"Be ready for anything, boys" Tex said, gripping her BR85.

They advanced into a darkened room, still and quiet, Spartan-104 and Sarge taking point while Caboose brought up the rear. Suddenly, there was a charging whine sound, and then a pulse of energy, and everyone felt as their shields abruptly drained, low-toned warning sounds issuing in their ears.

"EMP!" Wash shouted.

Church and Tex felt thankful that their new robot bodies were protected well enough that they were unharmed by the pulse, though they too lost their shields.

Seconds later, several Black-Sun soldiers leapt out of the shadows, opening fire. The team immediately dove for cover, Wash crying out as a bullet broke through his upper left armguard and grazed the limb within. The group activated their helmet's VISR systems, highlighting each other in green, the area in yellow, and the eight hostiles in red. It wasn't long before shields recharged, and they counterattacked, taking the surprised enemies down.

"Alright, someone hit the lights" Wash said.

"Got 'em" Church replied as what lights that had survived the shootout came on, giving sorta-dim illumination to the room.

"Church?"

The Blue-Team leader turned to his odd friend. "Yeah, Caboose?"

"I…" the blue-armored man was holding his hand to his chest. "I… I think they got me…"

(MUSIC: _Mass Effect 3 Leviathan DLC music _– "Final Conversation remake")

Caboose then fell backward against the wall, his arm falling away to reveal several bloody holes in his armor. He slid down into a seated position against the wall.

"Oh no… No! _Caboose!-!_"

Everyone immediately rushed over, as Caboose's body heaved with several desperate coughs.

"Spartan, do you have any biofoam?" Texas asked, her tone desperate.

"No…" Fred replied. "I used it on our way into the ship, on some kid who got one in the leg."

"C-Can we lock his armor?" Church asked frantically. "Staunch the bleeding?"

"No, he's still wearing the old model" Simmons replied. "It doesn't have armor lock feature. And… h-he's bleeding internally. A lot."

Washington pulled out a datapad and plugged a cable from it into Caboose's armor port. It projected a 3D diagnostic screen showing five deep bullet wounds, two having torn through Caboose's lungs while a third nicked a major vein.

"This can't be happening…" he murmured, shell-shocked. "Not _again_…"

"No way…" Tucker said, disbelief in his voice. "T-This doesn't happen. Caboose _always _tanks whatever hits him. He can't…"

"This can't be real…" Church choked out. "This _can't _be happening! Not Caboose!"

The simple man slowly brought shaking hands up, gripping the sides of his helmet, trying to pull it off. Church reached out and did it for him, gently pulling free the helmet to reveal Caboose's pale-blond hair, half-lidded brown eyes staring up at him, a smile dripping with blood.

"I s-screwed up again, Church…" Caboose said weakly. "Sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong, buddy" Church said. "You didn't screw up. …_I _did. I should've seen this kinda thing coming. I should've anticipated an ambush like this! …Please… don't leave me, buddy. You're my… my best friend."

"…Really?" Caboose whispered, smiling softly. "Y-You really mean it this time, Church?"

"Yeah" Church choked out. "Yeah, I do."

"…I'm so happy to… hear that…" he let out a few more coughs, and then took a ragged breath. "So happy… to…"

"Hey… Hey, no, c'mon Caboose! Stay with me! Look at me! Come on, Mikey! Stay with me, buddy! _Please!-! _Don't you fucking die on me, man! Not like this! Not when we're so close! Come on!-!"

"Thank you…" he whispered. "…Chur…"

His eyes closed, and he went still. Church could only stare for several seconds, before he hunched over, clutching onto Caboose's still form. He stayed there, quietly sobbing.

"C-Church…" Tex whispered, her voice choking up, as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. We… We need to keep moving. We need to… finish what we started…"

Sarge turned away, gripping his shotgun and heading for the door. Grif was right behind him, Brute Shot readied.

"Where are you two going?" Wash asked in a flat tone.

Sarge turned back to face him, and spoke in a low, dangerous tone. "To kill each and every one of those motherfuckers on this whole damned ship."

Donut said nothing, only nodding as he readied his BR85 rifle, turning sorrow into cold rage.

Church took one last look at his comrade. "…His name was Michael J. Caboose" he said softly. "He was the weirdest, dumbest man I ever met. He hated babies, kittens with spikes on them, and taxes. He was my best friend."

And so, the Blood-Gulch Team, minus one member, moved on, weapons ready, their hearts and mind filled with one goal: to take the _Procyon_, and brutally kill every last Black Sun on the entire vessel.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Please don't hate me.


	5. Procyon

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Black Sun **_**Paris**_**-class Heavy Frigate **_**Procyon**_

**Outside the elevator to the bridge**

Gamma, Theta, and Lancer Teams waited by the large double-doors of the lift. Sigma Team emerged from a doorway ahead.

"Hey, guys" Teana waved them over. "Welcome back. What took ya?"

"A pack of Type-Bs" Subaru replied. "So who're we missing?"

"Just Team Blood-Gulch" Carolina replied. The last door began to open. "Or maybe not."

(MUSIC: the 'lonely piano' bit from _Halo 4 OST _– "Green and Blue")

Washington walked out, the others behind him. Their body language looked… off, somehow.

"What happened to you guys?" Ginga asked.

They said nothing.

"Hey…" Marie said, looking concerned. "Where's Caboose?"

Wash stepped forward. "We were ambushed – dark room, EMP took out our shields, and then Black Suns jumped us. We killed 'em, but… Caboose took five to the chest. He…" his head hung low, as he pulled out a set of dogtags. "He didn't make it."

There was dead silence as it sank in. There were two clatters as Erika's Keyblade and Erio's Device fell from their grips.

"No…" Marie whispered, eyes wide and with building tears. Kaede F. walked over to her and held her close.

"I'm sorry, sir" Fred said to the Master Chief. "It happened too fast. We were too spread out. I couldn't…"

"It's alright…" John replied. "Sometimes there's just nothing you can do…"

"We need to finish this" Texas said. "For him."

"Let's get to the bridge" Tucker said in a low, even tone, with barely-restrained emotion faintly detectable. "So we can kill every last fucking one of these assholes."

The massive double-doors slid open, revealing the large lift. Everyone walked in and stood atop it. Church hit the button, the doors slid shut, and the lift moved up.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Outside**

The Black Suns were in tatters. At least 70% of their numbers were dead. The _Starshot_, the _Halberd_, and the _Blunt Dagger _hovered overhead, providing overwatch. Enemy air forces were already completely eliminated, with their heavy armor close behind.

A few hundred coalition personnel took the opportunity to blitz through them and get inside the _Procyon_, engaging the relatively little resistance inside, slowly claiming the rest of the ship.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

_**Procyon**_

**Elevator 2-B**

The double-doors slid open as the elevator reached its location. The door to the bridge was straight ahead. Unfortunately, however, between it and the teams was a horde of demons and Black-Sun troopers, all of them armed and ready.

(BATTLE MUSIC – _Red vs. Blue Season 10 OST_ – "The More")

"They really think this is gonna stop us?" Carolina remarked.

"I believe they do" Teana replied.

"Well, let's show them just how wrong they are!"

("_Aggressive tendencies lead to trauma. Ain't changin' shit; fuck the karma_")

Carolina leapt in first, dual plasma rifles blazing, cutting down three Black-Sun troopers. A Type-E with a sword came in behind her, only for Teana to spear it through the chest with Mirage Longsword.

("_Let it be, just what it is. No matter what, I handle biz'_")

"Everyone, _attack!-!_" Sarge cried.

"For Caboose!" Church shouted, firing his BR85.

("_Real as ever, never fake. Fuck da bullshit, fuck the jakes_")

North and Linda immediately started working their magic with sniper rifles, each of them taking down at least two targets with every shot fired. A Type-F swooped down at them from the ceiling, only to be blown out of the sky by a shot from Will's railgun.

("_Kiss my ass; that's attitude. Common sense, no gratitude_")

Tex and Sarah rushed in together, using devastatingly powerful blows to one-shot lesser demons and Black-Sun soldiers. Sarah handed her Lancer off to Tex, who wielded it in one hand and an MA5D in the other, using them to gun down scores of foes, while Sarah drew her gravity hammer and was pulverizing Type-Es.

("_Pistols drawn, better squeeze; casket-bound if you freeze_")

York and Sarge fought together, shotguns blasting apart armored Black-Sun soldiers. A pirate in stolen ODST armor rushed at Sarge, who judo-flipped him, cracked his visor with the butt of the shotgun, stuck the barrel through the new hole, and pulled the trigger.

("_Shells fly, bodies bleed. Me a pussy? Bitch, please!_")

Grif lobbed grenades with his Brute Shot, blowing apart a few armored soldiers. A Black-Sun rushed at him, combat knife drawn, and Grif dodged the blow and then slashed the man's throat open with the Brute Shot's blade, kicking him away afterward. Another tried to get him from behind, only for a shot from Agent Florida to put the kibosh to that.

("_Never that, don't fit the bill. Never have, never will_")

Tucker's plasma blade slashed and stabbed trough demons and Black Suns with ease, the man's utterly serious mood bringing his skills to the max. Subaru was covering him, using her DC-15 to take down targets at range and her Revolver Knuckle to deal with closer-in threats.

("_Cook the beef, 'til it bakes. Won't bend, never break_")

The Master Chief cut down scores of hostiles with little effort, dual-wielding MA5Ds and lashing out with lethal physical blows. Kaede K. and Mariko became whirlwinds of destruction, their vectors hacking apart demons and Black Sun soldiers alike, their precision weapons taking down even more; Kaede reloaded her carbine and then switched to her shotgun in time to blow a Type-E's head off, while Mariko's needle rifle proved its worth as well. Mana and Ginga were double-teaming Black Suns, using their cyborg super strength to bash and crush them while using their MA5D and Concussion Rifle to take down those out of melee range.

("_You fuckin' soft, what a shame. Just as I thought: fuckin' lame_")

Marie fired Annihilator Beam shots from Charon, thinning out Type-Gs and the occasional Type-E. Kaede F. was sticking close to her, using her DMR to pick off longer-range targets. Mai was nearby, putting her SAW to good use.

("_Flipside to that, stands me. Hard as stone, Straight-G_")

A Type-B leapt into the fray. Laicixa and Erika rushed it together, using a well-synchronized combination attack to bring it down, with Aqua leaping in to deal the finishing blow. The three Keyblade Wielders charged into a mass of Type-Gs, hacking them apart at a significant rate.

("_Ice-cold, call me glacier. Doin' me; hi, haters!_")

A _Rairyōken no Jutsu _from Timmy tore into a group of Type-Es, the two Lightning Hounds bringing the tall demons down quickly. The boy's M6C was then used to take down a pair of Black Sun Jackals who tried to flank him. Erio & Caro were taking down a rather large pack of Type-Gs with electrified slashes and focused balls of Fire and Light.

("_Motivation on my grind. Back down? You outcha' mind_")

Shion was putting her Dark Templar powers to the test, Void-Jumping amongst the enemy and cutting them down with her Void Blade, while also using an M7 SMG. Washington and Fred were taking out Black Suns, their BR85s being fired with pinpoint accuracy; every pull of a trigger meant someone on the other side died.

("_Call me crazy, but I'm the best. Nothin' more, nothin' less_")

Asa and Ahsoka were helping fend off the horde trying to get to North and Linda as they continued dealing out long-range death. Asa's Lancer fired until the air around the muzzle wavered with heat, while Ahsoka's twin energy blades hacked and stabbed at anything that came close while also deflecting shots sent the snipers' way. A rocket was blocked by Asa's bright-green shield spell, and the Black Sun responsible was then sniped by North.

("_Talkin' shit, it's what I do, and back it up without a crew_")

Carolina rolled under a Type-E, hosing its back with plasma fire. A Black Sun in power armor came at her, only to be blindsided by Texas, who then (with Carolina's consent) launched the blue-armored ex-Freelancer upward enough to catch Sarah's thrown gravity hammer and use it to smash two Type-Fs and a jetpack-wearing Black Sun trooper.

("_Stand strong, never bail, all heart, never fail_")

Though they hadn't truly fought together since Crassus seven months ago, the Master Chief and Teana quickly fell back into rhythm with each other, big Spartan and little Spartan carving through Black Suns and demon-entities with practiced ease. Teana had a Mirage Pistol in one hand and a Mirage Longsword in the other, backing up the Chief as he used an MA5D and a plasma sword, the enemy folding like a house of cards before the super-soldiers' might.

("_Raised different, family first, from the birth to the hearse_")

Church and Donut fired their BR85s with respectable accuracy, picking off Black-Sun soldiers. A *boom* sounded as Will fired another railgun shot, blowing a Type-B apart. Sarge and Grif were covering each other, BR85 and M90 mowing down hostiles. Kelly's shotgun blasted a Type-E's head off, and she then spun around a Black Sun soldier's attempt to tackle her, grabbing hold of him and twisting his head 150 degrees.

("_The more (you knock me down, the more I get back up)_")

Erika's Keyblade bisected a Type-E at the waist, the two halves rapidly dissolving into Darkness particles.

("_The more (you shut me up, the more I'm gonna shout)_")

Kaede F.'s DMR brought down a launcher-wielding Black Sun trooper, as a beam-rifle-carrying Jackal was killed by Mai's SAW.

("_The more (you take from me, the more I'm gettin' back)_")

Tex stole a Black Sun trooper's shotgun and started putting it to use against his buddies, while Kelly stuck a Spike Grenade to a Type-B's head with brutally lethal results.

("_The more you try to break me, you're gonna SEE!_")

A swing of Mirage Longsword decapitated a Type-E. A Photon Lancer barrage from Laicixa took down four Type-Fs. Assault rifle fire from Mana killed a pair of Black Sun Kig-Yar. A gravity hammer strike from Sarah crushed a Black Sun trooper with a shotgun.

("_YOU!_")

And the hits

("_WON'T!_")

just kept

("_BREAK!_")

on

("_MEEEEE!-!-!_")

coming.

After nearly 10 straight minutes of ass-kicking, the last hostile – a Type-E – fell, blown apart by Erika's Needler. The way was clear. Everyone stopped to reload and catch their breath.

"Everyone okay?" Teana called out.

"No injuries with the Spartans" Cortana reported.

"Blood-Gulchers are good" Wash said.

"Lancer Squad all in one piece" Carolina said.

"Sigma Team a-okay" Aqua reported.

"Theta Team is fine" Laicixa said.

"Gamma's all good too, Boss" Marie said.

"Alright, everyone head for the door to the bridge" Wash said. "It's time to finish this."

They made their way across the now-quiet big room, up to the doorway. The Chief inserted Cortana into the network, and a few seconds later retracted her as the doors opened. Everyone filed in, weapons ready… and came across a graveyard. Desiccated corpses of Black Sun officers – human and Kig-Yar – filled the bridge. Up at the center, near the captain's chair, the ship's commander floated helpless, twitching as the life force was sucked out of him, being gathered in the extended hand of a figure clad in a dark-brown hooded robe. After several seconds, the man dropped, withered and dead. The figure turned to face the heroes, its face still shrouded.

"_**T**__hese men have paid the price for their failur__**e**_" the figure said in an unnaturally deep, slightly-flanging voice."_**T**__hey sought to double-cross us, refuse to hold up their end of the bargai__**n**__. __**T**__his is the resul__**t**__._"

"I assume you're another of our Mysterious Enemy's high-ranking personnel?" Teana asked as she drew Mirage Longsword.

The 'man' chuckled. "_**I**__ am one of the four – well, three now – Dark Generals subservient directly to our Maste__**r**__. __**Y**__ou did quite well, Lanstar, in disposing of Kada__**k**__. __**S**__uch skill and power is a rarit__**y**__._"

"I had help, just like I do now."

Everyone pointed their weapons at the cloaked figure.

"_**S**__tay your hands, young prodigal__**s**__. __**I **__have no reason to fight you right now; I must return to my Master and inform him of recent event__**s**__._"

"As if we'd let you leave" Church growled.

The 'man' chuckled… and then vanished into thin air, leaving the material plane.

"_**A**__s if you had a say in the matte__**r**_" his voice retorted as it faded away.

After a moment of stillness, the Master Chief walked up to the captain's chair, inserting Cortana into the main network terminal. All across the vessel, the few remaining Black Sun holdouts found the environment turning against them, aiding the coalition soldiers now combing the vessel.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

_**Starshot **_**Port Hangar**

**45 Minutes Later**

The Phantom dropship settled into its dock, allowing the infiltration teams to disembark. Before they could do anything, a corpsman came running up.

"Hey!" he shouted. "You guys! I need to show you something! Follow me!"

So now, everyone found themselves following the excitable young corpsman, leading them to the primary medical bay. Along the way, they found several injured soldiers being tended to, along with a handful of occupied body bags. He led them to the ICU waiting area.

"What's this about, corpsman?" York asked.

"Okay" the man replied. "So, while you guys were fighting up at the top level, we were making our way up in your wake, clearing out any Black Suns you missed. That's where we found him. He'd lost a lot of blood, and when we got to him his heart had _juuust _stopped beating. But his brain hadn't suffered oxygen deprivation damage yet, and his synapses, though slowing down, were still firing. …My point is, if we'd found him just minutes later than we did, it would've been too late."

He called up a holo-screen showing the interior of a room in the ICU, showing a certain pale-blond-haired man hooked up to monitors, bandages wrapped around his torso, a breathing mask on his face.

"Michael Caboose is alive. We saved him."

Church fell to his knees in disbelief and relief.

"…Thank God…" he whispered. "Oh, thank God, that lunkhead's still with us…"

"It was touch-and-go for a bit" said "Doc" DuFresne as he walked up, "but we pulled it off. Good thing I had recent experience treating those kinds of wounds thanks to Donut."

"Gee, you're welcome" Donut replied with snark. "Should I get myself shot again so you can have _more_ practice?"

"Can we see him?" Tucker asked.

"He's probably gonna be out-cold for the rest of the day" the corpsman replied. "Once he's up, we'll let you know."

Marie showed similar joyous relief to the Blues, allowing herself to sink into a nearby chair. Teana let out a sigh of relief as she took off her helmet, allowing her butt-length red-orange hair to flow free.

"…How the hell do you fit all that inside your helmet, anyway?" Grif asked.

"Magic" Teana replied.

"_Infiltration teams,_" Col. Holland said over a nearby terminal, "_now that you've found out your friend's still alive, please report to the debriefing room. I know some of you will file after-action reports later, but after hearing confirmation of nether-realm interference I wanna hear the details from you all personally._"

"Affirmative, sir" Teana replied. "On our way."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

_**Starshot **_**Medical Bay**

**Next Day – 855 hours**

"Knock, knock"

"Yeah, who's there?"

"It's us, Caboose"

"'It's us, Caboose' who?"

"No, I mean… Ugh."

"That's not a very funny joke, Church."

The hospital door opened, revealing Caboose sitting in the bed. Church and Tucker walked in, the latter carrying a tray, checking out their teammate, who still looked a tad pale and was still wrapped in bandages, but was otherwise his usual self.

"Look, Church!" he said as he held up a tiny purple… thing.

"What is that?" Tucker asked.

"Y'know how the first time I got shot, a few years back, they gave me a Purple Heart? Well, this time, besides another one they also gave me this Purple Lung! I'm one step closer to getting that Purple Person I've wanted!"

Church couldn't help but laugh. Yep, definitely his usual self.

"Ooh, are those Mickey Mouse-head pancakes? Yay!"

In another room, Teana, Washington, North, and Ginga sat; the two Freelancers' helmets were off.

"So much stuff's happened in the past week, it's insane" Wash remarked.

"How do you think _I _feel?" North said. "I came back from the dead!"

"How's Theta settling in?" Ginga asked.

"He seems to be doing fine" North replied. "A little shy, but he's getting used to it all. Cortana seems to be taking him under her wing a little. And he was quick to see Church as a big brother."

"I still say we should've killed those Black Suns who surrendered" Wash mused.

North looked at him. "Jeez, David. What the hell happened to the bright and cheery naïve Wash I knew?"

"…You know damn well what happened."

"…Yeah. Yeah I do."

"The captured Black Sun personnel have promised potentially vital information in exchange for their lives" Cross Mirage stated. "They are more useful alive."

"For now" Teana added.

"So what," Wash said jokingly to Mirage, "does that mean that if I outlive my usefulness you'll just stand back and watch me die? Seriously, though, promise me you're not gonna end up like those crazy AIs in old sci-fi."

"I'm sorry, Dave" Mirage replied. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Everyone went quiet. Teana arched an eyebrow at her Device, while Wash (having seen that old flick as a kid) backed away slowly.

"That was a joke" Mirage stated.

"Fuckin' AIs…" Wash muttered.

In yet another room, a more serious conversation was taking place between two ex-Freelancers.

"I was just trying to keep my status," Carolina said angrily, "but you always tripped me up! Every single time, you always outdid me, made me look week and ineffectual, like I couldn't do anything right when you got involved!"

"I was never _trying _to outdo you!" Texas replied. "I never _wanted _to! I was just doing my _job_! I didn't want to outdo or overthrow or overshadow you, Carolina! I didn't see you as a rival; I saw you as a comrade! I even tried to help you whenever I could! When we were going after C.T. and you got pinned by those gunners, I was trying to clear a path for you guys. When the Director ordered that you be left to suffer when Eta & Iota went nuts in your head, I disobeyed his orders and sedated you. When I came to rescue Alpha, I tried to convince you of how far the Director had fallen, that I was trying to do the right thing! You were the second-best Freelancer operative, and _the _best actual human operative! And towards the end, when I learned what I was, I realized you were also the closest thing I had to a sister!"

Carolina reeled back. "W-What? What do you mean, sister?-!"

Texas sighed. "You know that I'm an AI, right? What you _don't _know is that I was created based on the memory of Allison, the Director's girlfriend… and your mother. I came from her; essentially, she's _my _mother, too. For all intents and purposes, I'm her daughter, just like you. …When I saw the Meta throw you over that cliff, I was heartbroken. I'd just found out I had family, and I wasn't fast enough to save them from death. I spent the rest of my life trying to track down the Director, to get revenge for what he did to me, to Alpha, to York, _and _to you. And though I don't have it now, in my last life I had a… default; a curse, if you will. It ensured that whenever something important was on the line, I would always fail at the last, critical moment. Because of that, I failed to save you, I failed to find the Director, I failed to stop The Meta at Snowbound…"

She slumped down.

"I'm sorry, Mick. I'm sorry."

Carolina was silent, her helmet hiding her expression. Finally, she spoke.

"This is… a lot to digest" she said softly. "A lot to look over… A sister… I need to think…"

"…Take all the time you need."

Tex's head moved up, looking at Carolina as she removed her helmet.

"I can't promise that it'll be right between us for a long time," Carolina said, "but… maybe we can try starting over…"

"…Okay" Tex replied. "We can give that a try."

"We'll see where this takes us… sis."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Later That Day**

Gamma and Sigma Teams walked into the bridge. "You wanted to see us, sirs?" Teana said to the ship's two commanding officers.

"Indeed" Shipmaster Zhal Arum replied. "We have determined where our Mysterious Foe may likely attempt to meddle next… and thus, where we must soon depart for."

"Earth in Dimension NGE-79" Col. Holland said. "Your home Earth, Ms. Kirishima."

Mana looked up. "I see…" she said with uncharacteristic quietness. "Y-You're sure?"

"Yes. They're heading there soon. …Don't worry; you won't be facing what's waiting there along."

"Plus," Teana said, "your cybernetics have been upgraded; NHIS can't touch you anymore. And if they try, well…"

"We 'touch' them back" Aqua finished.

Mana took a slow, deep breath. "Alright…" she said. "When do we leave?"

"We enter slipstream space in a few hours" Arum replied. "We should arrive at our location midday tomorrow."

"What about the Blood-Gulchers, and Lancer Squad?" Teana asked.

"They've all chosen to join the UNSC proper" Holland replied. "They're going to be joining us for this next op."

"Okay… I might as well go find them and let them know what's coming."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Orbit over Dolus**

**Three Hours Later**

Space-time parted as the _Starshot _entered the void of inter-dimensional slipspace. Aboard the vessel, Mana stared out at the stars.

"Ikari, Ayanami, Sōryū…" she muttered. "I'm coming back…"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Unknown Location**

**Planet Dolus**

(MUSIC: _Red vs. Blue _OST – "(When) Your Middle Name Is Danger")

He was dying. A once-powerful transhuman titan now lay, broken and forgotten. The icy water that enshrouded him preserved him, protected his core systems from death, but even that could only hold off the reaper's scythe for so long. Now, at long last, his life-force was slowly leaving him.

"_**YOU ARE BROKEN…**_"

In his slowly fading consciousness, he heard the otherworldly voice, and agreed with it. He had been broken.

"_**YOU WERE STRONG, BUT YOU WERE OUTMATCHED – NOT STRONG ENOUGH. YOU ARE BROKEN… BUT I CAN FIX YOU.**_"

Fix him, he thought? How? He was minutes away from death.

"_**PLEDGE YOURSELF TO ME, AND I SHALL RESTORE YOU STRONGER THAN BEFORE. AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BREAK THOSE WHO HAVE BROKEN YOU.**_"

Revenge. Power. This entity promised him the two things that he wanted most in life, the things that focusing on had kept him alive for this long.

"_**BECOME MY CHAMPION, MY WARRIOR, AND MY POWER SHALL BE YOURS.**_"

The Other offered. And he accepted.

At the base of an icy cliff, a floating chunk of ice drifted. Nearby, the twisted hulk of a wrecked Pelican, fallen over the edge, gathered snow and ice. A hand, clad in white armor and shrouded in a faint, pitch-black aura, reached up out of the near-frozen water and grabbed hold of the edge of the ice float, accompanied by a feral snarl.

**-**_**BOOK 12 END**_**-**

Next book: we go to the _Evangelion_-verse.


End file.
